The Recall Job
by gibbsrossi
Summary: Eliot made that call, now Sophie's life is in turmoil and the Leverage gang team up with some old friends in order to try to make things right. TeamFic with plenty of old friends and my usual N/S pairing.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Two years three months and fifteen days after she had said yes to Nate's marriage proposal and they had walked away from Leverage Inc. she was sitting in a church in the front pew watching and listening as Father Paul laid Nathan Ford to rest. Eliot, Parker and Hardison sat beside her. Her eyes were red rimmed from the many tears she had shed since Eliot had informed her of Nate's death. She closed her eyes and remembered that fateful morning that had set everything in motion and had led to this.

"_Oh…" Nate said looking at his phone as it rang incessantly._

"_Who is it?" Sophie asked looking up at him as she lay beside him in bed._

"_Eliot…" Nate said accepting the call._

"_Nate." Eliot responded and in that one word Nate knew there was trouble. He knew Eliot, he knew that tone in his voice meant something had gone wrong. "Remember you said to call if I needed you…" Eliot inhaled deeply before continuing. "I need you."_

"_Where are you?" Nate asked not bothering to ask why he was needed. It must be bad if Eliot had made this call, everything considered._

"_Moscow." _

"_Parker and Hardison?"_

"_Hardison is with me but Parker….they have Parker." Eliot said which explained his call to Nate._

"_Tell Hardison to get me on the next flight out."_

"_Sophie…"_

"_Is staying right where she is…" Nate said a tone of finality in his voice. His seven month pregnant wife was not going to go traipsing off to Moscow and into whatever trouble their three young friends had gotten themselves into._

"_Right…Hardison said he would text you the details of the flight, it leaves in about three hours." Eliot said relaying Hardison's message to Nate. He was always amazed at how fast Hardison could work, even after seven years of working with the man._

"_Good. I'll see you at the airport then." Nate said and hung up. He turned to look at his wife and knew he was heading for trouble._

"_And where exactly are you going?" Sophie said softly. She knew something was wrong and that Eliot had not simply called to enquire as to her and the babies' health._

"_Moscow…" Nate held up his hand to stop her from saying anything. "You are not going with Sophie…you have our son to think of." _

"_What happened?" Sophie asked not arguing with her husband._

"_I don't know. They are in trouble. Whoever it is they went up against, he apparently has Parker." He leaned in and kissed her on her forehead. "I have to go…" He whispered into her hair. He hated to leave her. Especially now, she was in her final stage of the pregnancy and he knew she was nervous. But he could not ignore Eliot's call for help. Those three were as much his family as Sophie and his unborn son._

"_I know…just promise me you will be careful and that you will be home before he makes an appearance." She said emphasizing the 'he' by placing Nate's hand on her belly._

"_I promise." He said kissing her again. He pulled out his case and started to pack what he would need. If the plane left in three hours he had to hurry._

Sophie was pulled out of her memories by Father Paul's voice.

"Sophie…" The Father said looking at her. "You wanted to say something."

For a moment Sophie just stared at the Priest and then she closed her eyes and nodded. Yes she wanted to say something. She wanted to tell the world what a wonderful man Nathan Ford had been. What a wonderful husband, friend, father…She wanted to shout out how unfair it was that he had been taken away from her and their unborn son. That their son would never know him, never know the love of his father. She rose, helped by Eliot who had appeared at her side. She smiled at him in thanks and then made her way up to the Dias.

Standing there before large crowd of people who had come to pay their last respects to Nate. She swept her eyes across the room. There were old clients, old friends, Sterling was there with his daughter, Amy and her father, Archie and even Quinn had made an appearance. Tears stung at her eyes as she looked over the people crowded into the church. She wondered if Nate really, truly knew how much he was loved and respected.

"Nathan Ford was not a saint. He was a man. A man who had suffered more than most, life had not been kind to him. He had lost everything. But he managed to rebuild himself. Not into what he once was but into someone better, someone who made a difference in people's lives. He gave me a family." She held her hand to her stomach and then looked at the three members of their little family. "He gave us a family. One thing Nathan Ford would always do was protect his family. And that is what he did. He died saving his family, saving the people he loved most in this world. His son will never know him, never know what a kind, generous and loving man his father was." She said then stopped to regain her composure before continuing. "I know that he is still here with us, with me. He will always be with us in everything we do. Goodbye my love…" Sophie said staring at the picture of Nate that was on display in the front of the church. There was no coffin. There was no coffin because there was no body. His body, along with the rest of the people on the ship had never been recovered. The explosion had obliterated everything. "I promise you that David will know you, through me, through your family, he will know what a brave, honorable man you were. Rest now my love…until we meet again." Sophie said tears falling from her eyes and her voice breaking as she felt her emotions envelope her. Eliot immediately stood and helped her back to her seat. Parker took her hand and squeezed it gently lending her support, words were not needed, no words could take away the pain of the loss they all felt, but Parker wanted Sophie to know that she was there, that they were there, for her, for David, Nate's unborn son, and for each other.

Then each of them took their turn to speak of Nate and what he had meant to them. Of what he had given them, of how he had changed their lives forever, giving their lives purpose and meaning. Sterling also spoke as did Archie. Parker cried as Archie spoke of Nate and of his dedication to her, of his love of her. Then it was over. The people filed out of the church. There would be no burial and they had held a traditional wake for Nate the previous day, so there would be no reception. Eventually it was only the four of them left in the church.

"We should…I should never have called." Eliot said as he stared at the image of Nate.

"No Eliot…you should have, you had too. You are his family and if you had not called and something had happened to Parker, Nate would never have forgiven you and you know it." Sophie said trying to be strong for him, for Nate, for all of them.

She knew that each of the three blamed themselves for Nate's death. He had trusted them to be able to take care of themselves. He had taken Sophie out of harm's way and he had built a new life with her, including a new family. But Sophie knew that whatever anybody said. They had still remained as much part of his family as ever and he would have, no he did, give his life to ensure their safety. She could not blame them for that, although in the beginning she had, she had blamed them and cursed them. Now she had made peace with what had happened. She knew that Nate would not have wanted it any other way. Now she had to make sure that his sacrifice was not in vain. That their family would stay as strong as it was with no blame and no recriminations. Nate was gone, but as long as they remembered him and honored him, he would never truly be gone.

"What now…?" Parker said looking at Nate's picture. "What do we do now?"

"Now Parker, we go home." Sophie said softly. Home, home to an empty house and memories of a man she loved and had lost. "Then we figure out how to make that bastard pay." She finished looking at Eliot.

"No you don't Sophie. Nate wanted you safe. You and your son, his son, and I am not going to allow you to do anything that could hurt either one of you."

"I didn't say that I was going to do anything Eliot. No, I will not do anything to jeopardize my son, but I will make sure that the person or persons who took his father away from him pays the price for it." Sophie said adamantly.

"I thought that might be your plan…" A voice said causing all of them to turn and stare at the man who approached them. "I know…I am not Nate, but…" He stopped and looked at Sophie. "I offer my services as…well whatever you need me to be."

"Sterling we don't need you for anything." Eliot said he still had no liking for the man, and he didn't trust him.

"Why would you want to anyway?" Hardison asked confused by Sterling's offer. Sterling had always at best used Nate and the team or at worst, tried to get them arrested.

"Sophie…?" James Sterling said looking directly at her and ignoring the rest.

"You need a Mastermind Sophie and you need a Grifter…" Another voice interjected before she could answer.

"Tara…" Sophie said as her best friend joined the group.

"Whatever Nate was, and he was many things…" Sterling said softly. "He was my friend and he deserves justice."

"And we are going to make sure he gets it." Maggie Collins said as she too joined the group.

Sophie looked around the group. Yes, they would get justice for Nate. These people would make sure of that. She smiled to herself then as she thought of how Nate would have reacted to this. Then she looked at each one of them standing in a circle around her.

"Yes we will…" She said softly. She looked over again at the image of her husband and smiled at him. "Yes we will." She repeated then led the six of them out of the church. They would make sure Nate was avenged, that the person who had caused so much sorrow and hurt to her family was punished and she had no doubt now that they would be able to do exactly that. With Sterling to plan and the rest to execute, the man who had done this would regret it and then she could really let Nate rest in peace.

**OK so this is the start of my new story. I hope you are all going to enjoy it. As usual I would like to ask that you review and let me know what you think of the start. I look forward to reading all of your comments.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

They were all sitting around the table in Sophie's house. Sterling, Maggie and Tara on the one side and Parker, Hardison and Sophie on the other.

"I need to know what happened from the beginning." Sterling told them. When he got a sour look from Eliot he rolled his eyes slightly. "If I'm going to work out a plan Eliot, if I'm going to play the Mastermind, I need to know everything."

"Sterling's right Eliot…tell him." Sophie told the Hitter. She did not like Sterling either, but he was here to help them get revenge for Nate, and they needed him.

Eliot nodded slightly and then turned to Sterling.

"We were on a job in Moscow when…" Eliot started casting him mind back to the events leading up to him contacting Nate and his subsequent death.

"_So we go to Moscow?" Hardison was saying after Parker had finished her briefing, it was not the normal job of taking down a bad guy. They had been approached by a woman whose daughter had been kidnapped and taken to Moscow to be sold on the black market. Not a job that Leverage International would usually take but the woman was a friend of Parkers and she was going to go regardless of what Eliot or Hardison said. _

"_Yeah, we go to Moscow…" Parker smiled at them. She knew Eliot disapproved; this was not something they should be involved in. She also knew that they were not really equipped to deal with the kind of thing they were getting into but she also knew she had to try. She knew that but she could not say no, Mary Ellen was a good friend, actually she was a friend of Alice White's but that made no difference._

"_I hate Moscow…especially in the winter." Hardison moaned. "It's damn cold there girl…l mean freeze your butt off cold."_

"_Stop complaining Hardison and just get everything together, the longer we take to get there…" Eliot growled at the Hacker. He did not like it. He did not like it one little bit. If they were caught, well it was very easy for somebody to disappear in Moscow never to be seen again, and they were planning to steal from one of the most notorious, rich and powerful men in the city. Not to mention he had the backing of the Russian Mob, being one of its leading lights._

"_I know Eliot…she may not be there when we do." Hardison said as he started to pack his equipment._

"_Right, and if we lose her there, we ain't never going to find her again, Markison will make sure of that." Eliot confirmed._

"Wait a minute…" Sterling said stopping Eliot and looking the Hitter incredulously. "You went to Moscow to steal from one of the most ruthless, powerful men in the Russian Mob, on his territory? What the hell were you thinking?"

"We were thinking of a young woman who did not deserve to be sold to the highest bidder." Eliot said softly.

"Just carry on with the story Eliot…" Sophie said wanting to avoid any kind of confrontation.

"Right…" Eliot said dragging his eyes away from Sterling and looking at Sophie. Then he cast his mind back again and continued with the narration.

"We arrived in Moscow and immediately made contact with an old friend of mine who knew the set up in the town…you know…who was where doing what…"

"_You sure this guy's information is good?" Hardison asked after they had met with a very scruffy looking man with dark cruel eyes that had seen more death than any of them, except maybe for Eliot._

"_Yeah it's good. Dmitri would not lie to me, he owes me." Eliot confirmed to the Hacker._

"_Ok well if he is right then that makes things a little easier. I mean we just have to get you and Parker into that party."_

"_That's right. We get in. We get out taking Sue-Anne with us." Parker said happily. This was going to be a lot easier than she had initially thought. _

"_The getting in won't be a problem…" Hardison said already working on his laptop._

"_Never is Hardison…it's the getting out where we are going to have a problem." Eliot said seriously. Yes they could get into the party and they could probably find the girl without too much trouble. He doubted though that getting out was going to be a piece of cake, especially with the girl along._

"_Hardison you are going to need the schematics of the house, we need to know all possible exits. We also need to know security, what are we dealing with in regards alarms and such. Eliot you and I need to scope the place out. See what we are up against in terms of manpower." Parker said. "Ok guys we have until tomorrow night to make sure we can pull this off, a girl's life is at stake so let's make sure we get it right." Parker said collecting her stuff and heading out the door. Eliot watched her walk away and then turned to Hardison. _

"_You know she is getting more and more like Nate every day…" He said shaking his head before setting out after the Thief._

"_That's a good thing right…?" Hardison called after him. Of course it was a good thing. They had lost a few in the last two years but mostly Parker's planning had been spot on every time. This was a little different though and even though he had complete faith in Parker, he was still nervous. For the first time since Nate and Sophie had bowed out of Levering Inc. he wished the Mastermind were around to help with the planning. If something went wrong, they could end up dead, or worse, in the hands of the man they were trying to steal the girl away from._

_Parker and Eliot sat a fair distance away from the house they would be trying to break out of in less than twenty four hours and the signs were not at all good._

"_I see at least six guys patrolling and they have automatic weapons. Parker that's only on the outside, there are sure to be extra guys on the inside and guarding the buildings at the back. Dmitri said he keeps all his merchandise in the building in the back there." Eliot said looking at the building through the binoculars._

"_Ok so getting in is no problem. Getting to the buildings at the back could be. Then getting us and Sue-Anne out will definitely be." Parker agreed also going over the house in detail, taking in all the patrols and mentally calculating the time it would take her to get to the back buildings and then back out again._

"_Parker…I know she is your friends kid, and we are going to do this job, but I must tell you man, I ain't so sure we can pull it off." Eliot told the Thief._

_Parker looked at Eliot thoughtfully. He had only once or twice in the past few years questioned the job she had taken and the planning of the jobs. Eliot mostly went along with her, so the fact that he was saying something now meant he was really concerned._

"_Eliot, I promised her I would get her daughter back. I know it is short notice, I know we have little time to plan. The thing is if we don't act now, Sue-Anne could be gone forever and we will never find her again. I have to do this Eliot." Parker replied._

"_I know…I just wish we had a little more time to plan." Eliot said. There was no way he was not going to do this job. He just thought that the timeframe was short and that it was dangerous in the extreme. The plan was simple enough and with a little luck they could pull it off. But if one thing went wrong…he did not even want to think about the consequences. Nate had pulled of a fair amount of these nearly impossible; short notice; almost no prep jobs, but as good as Parker was, or at least as good a Mastermind as she was becoming, she was not Nate. Just then the thought crossed his mind to call the man and ask his opinion, but he dismissed the idea. _

"_Ok well let's get back and see what Hardison has for us." Parker said putting the binoculars down and starting the car._

"_Let's hope he has better news than we do." Eliot said taking a last look at the house as they drove off and back to the hotel Hardison had them staying at._

"I have to agree with Sterling on this one. I mean no prep and going up against someone like Markison…" Tara said as Eliot stopped speaking.

"We didn't have a choice." Hardison said coming to Parker's defense.

"I understand that Hardison, it's just, well a little reckless, and naive to think you could do it without major consequences if you made one mistake…"

"Which they did…and Nate paid the price." Maggie said. She did not want to be accusatory but she still loved Nate and she was hurting that he was gone. It was their fault and the more she heard about what had led to Nate's death, the more she was starting to blame the three youngest members of Nate's ex-team.

"We thought we could pull it off." Parker whispered, she knew that they were sitting here because of her, because of decisions she had made. Nate was dead because she had screwed up. She looked up and straight into Maggie's eyes. "I was wrong."

"We've been over this. The job we did, me and Nate and you guys, it's dangerous and things go wrong. Nate knew the risks, all of us did. Now things went wrong and that is that. We are not here to try to second-guess the plan, or what happened during the job. What we need is to figure out how to make Markison pay." Sophie said softly. She could tell that Maggie was starting to get upset with the three of them for doing something as stupid as they had. What she had said was true. They, as a team had taken on a lot worse people at a lot shorter notice, but that was with Nate at the wheel. Parker was good, but she was not Nate.

"Alright so let's hear the rest of it." Sterling said and waited for Eliot to continue.

"_You got us an invite?" Eliot asked as they reentered the hotel room._

"_Yeah, you and Parker are good to go." Hardison said pressing a button and bringing up the schematics on the big screen television in the room. "Now, the girls, according to Eliot's friend, are being held here at a compound in the back of the premises. The party is being held here, in the main reception area, which is quite a distance away. You are going to have to slip out of the party, across this courtyard and into the buildings in the back. Then you have to find the girl and get her out. The security it high tech. Camera's motion sensors and so on and so forth…" Hardison said rolling his hands for emphasis. "Now I can spoof the camera's to give you some time to get between the buildings, but I don't know how you are going to get out, and I can't spoof the guards." Hardison said shaking his head slightly._

"_We are going to need a distraction." Eliot said staring at the schematics. "Something that will cause a small amount of chaos that will allow Parker to get out with the girl."_

"_What do you suggest?" Parker asked the Hitter._

"_I don't know Parker…" Eliot said trying to think of a way they could do this without getting themselves killed. "I'm thinking a lot of noise and commotion. Our biggest asset here is surprise; he isn't going to be expecting anybody to make a run at getting those girls, not here."_

"_So it's your basic grab and run…I get into the back rooms, Eliot you cover me, we get the girl out and Hardison gets us out of the country." Parker said simply. _

"_Yeah…but if things go wrong, we leave the girl and get the hell out." Eliot said looking directly at Parker. _

"_No Eliot we get her out." Parker said meeting the Hitters eyes and in that moment Eliot really started to worry. This was way to personal for Parker. Every job they had done that had been personal, to Nate, to any of them, things had gotten out of hand and people had gotten hurt. He sighed heavily as he realized this one was going to be no different._

_Silence followed Parkers statement. Eliot just stared at her hard eyed as he contemplated the risks and the likelihood of something going terribly wrong. Hardison looked at both of them and realized that this was really their first time that they were at odds with each other over a job. They could not afford to be at odds, not on this job. He thought about what Eliot had said and then his eyes lit up._

"_A distraction…I can give you that." Hardison said smiling broadly._

"_What…" Eliot said breaking his eye contact with Parker to look at the Hacker._

"_Fireworks…" Hardison said triumphantly. "I mean it's a party right. Nobody but the host is going to know that the fireworks aren't planned…the guests will all go out to have a look and you have your distraction."_

"_That could work…" Eliot said as he listened to the Hacker._

"_Yeah…and I'll put on a show." He said happily._

"_That takes care of a commotion for cover but we still have to get passed the six or more armed guards, plus into the back rooms, plus out again…" _

"_I can get in passed the guards, that's no problem…you just need to get us out again." Parker said looking at the Hitter. _

"_Parker, have you considered that the girl might not be able to move on her own, I mean they tend to keep the girls drugged up…you thought about that?" Eliot said brining up another of his concerns. "And what about the other girls…we can't take them all." Eliot knew Parker, she would try to save all of the girls there, and that they would not be able to do, and if they tried, something was definitely going to go wrong._

"_I know." Parker said softly. "We just get Sue-Anne out…" Parker said locking eyes with Eliot again. "We can come back to take out Markison and get the rest of the girls, once we have a proper plan." _

"_Alright, what do we need?" Parker said looking at Hardison then._

_The rest of the afternoon was spent planning and going over the specifications of the compound. Times and rendezvous points were set up and by the evening all was in place. _

"_Hardison, we are going to be coming out hot…be ready." Eliot said as they walked into the house presenting their invitations. _

"_I'll be there Eliot, you just worry about getting Parker and the girl out safely." Hardison told the Hitter. _

_Everything went as planned. Parker slipped out of the party and managed to get to the back buildings. There she found the girl, drugged as Eliot had said she would be. Eliot remained in the house keeping an eye on the host. Once Parker had signaled she was ready, he also slipped out, he made his way into the back area taking out three of the guards silently. Parker, with the girl slung over her shoulder made their appearance and both she and Eliot moved as quickly as they could towards the exit. They let the girl walk on her own supported by both of them. Nobody seemed to notice them and they moved easily through the people. Hardison's fireworks display went off brilliantly and the front area was crowded with people giving Eliot and Parker the needed cover to get out. That is when everything went to hell._

_It was not a mistake that cost them no, it was pure blind bad luck. They bumped into the one man they had hoped to avoid. Markison…_

_In that one split second Eliot moved, taking out the bodyguards that were with the man and yelling at Parker to take the girl and run. Parker had Sue-Anne and was moving towards the exit when another two guards blocked her path. She immediately went into action taking one of them out as Eliot got to her and incapacitated the second one. He had subdued both the bodyguards and Markison, he grabbed the girl and moved towards the exit with Parker right behind him. As he made it through the doors he heard a gunshot and turned around to see Parker take a hit._

"_Go Eliot…get her out." Parker said as she stumbled forward then stopped. "Get out now Eliot." She screamed at him as the van pulled up in front of them._

_Eliot pushed the girl into the van and turned back towards Parker. She was now on the ground surrounded by guards and bullets were flying in their direction. His eyes met Parkers and then he turned and jumped into the van yelling at Hardison to get them out. Hardison hesitated for a brief second not wanting to leave Parker. _

"_Hardison…get us the hell out of here now…we can't do anything for her now and if we die, we won't be able to get her out…" Eliot yelled at the Hacker. "Dammit Hardison MOVE…"_

_Hardison flattened his foot onto the accelerator and the van tore off down the street. Guards rushed to cars to pursue but Hardison had used his time fruitfully sabotaging all the vehicles in the area. Once they were out Hardison slammed on brakes turning angrily to Eliot what was tending to the girl._

"_You left her…you left her…" He hissed at Eliot._

"_Hardison just get us to the airport." Eliot said not even looking up at the man. _

"_You left Parker…you son of a…"_

"_Hardison..." Eliot said his voice deadly. "Get us to the airport now…"_

_Hardison looked at Eliot his eyes blazing with anger and fear. He saw something in the Hitters eyes that told him to do as he was told. He turned back and gunned the engine again not trusting himself to speak. They arrived at the airport and got the girl onto the charter plane. Once the plane had left Hardison turned and threw his fist at Eliot connecting with the Hitter on the chin. Eliot did not try to stop him, he did not hit back. He just stood there. Hardison threw another punch connecting again with Eliot's face._

"_You left her…he'll…oh God…he'll kill her…" Hardison said breaking down as frustration and fear gripped him._

"_Hardison…" Eliot said grabbing the Hacker by the shoulders and shaking him. "Hardison…nobody is going to kill Parker. Do you hear me?" He said. _

"_Eliot…Eliot I can't…" Hardison said looking pleadingly at the man._

"_I know. I know…" He said. "Look at me Hardison. Hear me. We'll get her back."_

"_How…? He'll be waiting for us, he'll be ready for us, we can't just walk in." Hardison asked hesitantly._

_Eliot took a deep breath and pulled out his phone. He dialed the number, if they were going to get Parker back without being killed themselves and or Parker getting killed, they were going to need help. Once he had finished he turned to Hardison._

"_Let's get back to the hotel and get our stuff, you know Markison is going to be on to us. We need another headquarters ready for when Nate gets here."_

"Nate went in as a gunrunner to do business with Markison. It took him a few days to gain the mans trust and then to locate Parker but he did. Markison was holding her on his ship in the Baltic. He was also in the middle of a gun deal, Nate got himself invited to 'tender' on the shipment. He got us on board and we were able to get her off the ship. Nate…Damn him… he turned back to cover us when Markison…there was an explosion…nobody survived…except…" Eliot finished.

"Markison...?"

"That son of a bitch was thrown clear…got out with minor injuries."

"Why did the boat explode?" Sterling asked tilting his head to one said as he looked at Eliot.

"I don't…oh Nate…he must have…Damn him."

"To cover your retreat…he set off the explosives. That would be Nate." Sterling said. Nate had set off explosives, it was one hell of a risk, but Sterling knew Nate, he would always put their lives before his own and if he had to die to save them, then that is what he would do. They were his family. "He must have thought he could get off in time but miscalculated."

"We had to get Parker out. She was badly hurt and Markison had done a number on her as well." Eliot said turning to Sophie. "There was nothing more we could do…" He said softly bowing his head in shame for his actions of leaving Nate, of losing Nate.

"I know Eliot. I know." Sophie said stoically.

"Alright…" Sterling said to Hardison. "I take it we know where this Markison is right now?"

"Yeah..." Hardison said looking up at the Interpol Agent.

"What do you want Sophie…" Tara asked the Grifter.

Sophie looked at her friend and saw the real question there. Did she want Markison dead, because if that is what she wanted Tara would make it happen. Yes, she wanted Markison dead. It was not fair that he was breathing and Nate was dead, but that is not what Nate would do. It was not what they did. No. They would bring Markison down, along with his whole organization; they would take everything from the man and leave him in ruins. The rest of the group waited. They all understood Tara's question.

"We hurt him, we take everything away from him and we put him in a deep dark hole that he will never get out of." Sophie said quietly her voice filled with all the hatred she felt for the man.

Maggie and Sterling looked at each other, relief clear in their expressions. If Sophie had wanted him killed…they would not have been able to go along with that. Tara and the rest looked a little disappointed but knew Sophie had made the right decision.

"Alright then…let's get to work." Sterling said nodding at Sophie briefly then turning to Hardison. "I need to know Markison, everything there is to know."

**Thank you for all of your reviews for the first chapter. Please let me know what you thought about this one. All reviews are greatly appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It had been a week since the funeral. A week spent planning and calculating. Parker was right, all those years ago when they had first come up against him, James Sterling was Nate. He thought like Nate, he planned like Nate and he had a good plan in place for them to take down Markison. Now, as they were leaving, Maggie, Tara and Sterling stood behind Parker and Hardison as Eliot and Sophie confronted each other.

"You are not going with Sophie." Eliot was saying to the woman as they stood in her living room.

"He was my husband Eliot, he was my son's father and I am damn well going to watch as the man who took him from me, from us is brought down." She said hotly.

"You are right. He was your husband. He is the father of that child you are carrying. You and his son there were the most important people in his life. I can't…He died on my watch Sophie, I was supposed to protect him and I didn't so there is no way I am going to allow you to put yourself or his son in any danger. You can stay in the loop. You can listen in on coms. But you are not going, and that is final." Eliot said and the finality in his voice carried clearly across to Sophie.

"I need to be there Eliot...I need to. Don't ask me why but I need to be with you. Now you can leave me behind, but unless you are planning to lock me up here in this house, I will follow you, because I have to go." Sophie said her voice softening. She could not explain it but she knew that she had to be with them at the Baltic, to be where Nate had died, and to watch the man who was responsible for his death go down.

"Sophie please...You are seven months pregnant. You are under a lot of strain and I…if anything happened to you or to that baby…"

"I'm going Eliot. Now I promise that I will not participate in any way shape, or form in the mission. I will not go anywhere to put myself, or this baby in harm's way. But I need to be there."

"Man Sophie…just flying is putting you and the baby in harm's way...flying at seven months…man that is not on the 'good to do' list." Hardison chipped in.

"Ok…alright." Maggie said stepping in to the fray. "Sophie you want to go, you go." Maggie said standing beside her friend. "Hardison, organize a chartered flight, we'll take that instead of commercial, that should be better." She said to the Hacker. "But Sophie, you are not going to participate and you are going to take care of yourself. If you do anything to hurt that child, you will never forgive yourself and you know it."

Sophie smiled at her friend. Then nodded in agreement to her terms, she would not participate. She just wanted to be there, there was something driving her to go, and it was more than just Markison and the job, it was as if she could hear Nate calling to her, telling her she needed to go.

"Can we go now?" Sterling asked sensing that the argument was over.

"Keep your pants on Sterling." Eliot growled at him and lifted Sophie's bags taking them to the waiting van.

"Timing is everything Eliot, and if we are not in place in the next two days, we are going to lose our window."

"Just get in the damn van Sterling; we'll be there in time." Hardison said climbing in after Sophie and Tara. Maggie and Sterling took their seats and then Eliot and Parker climbed into the front seats.

"OK…let's go steal some retribution." Sophie said softly as the van pulled off.

They landed at Rockstock Airport around midday. It had been a long flight and a tiring one. They had spent most of the trip making sure everybody understood their part in the plan. If they were going to get Markison then everything had to be perfect.

"Take me to the…to the docks…" Sophie said as she got of the plane. "I want…I need to see."

Eliot looked at her and the sadness on her face almost tore his heart out. He nodded and got into the van Hardison had sourced for them as transport. The drive to the docks was spent in silence. Each of them were busy with their own thoughts. Eliot finally pulled up a little way away from the berth where the ship had been. There were still some signs of the explosion and the damage it had caused and the burnt out wreck stood in the dry dock. Sophie walked down to the edge of the dock and looked down at the dirty, murky waters below. She put her hand on her stomach and tears welled in her eyes.

"You promised me you would come back Nate. You promised me you would be there for your son's birth." She whispered softly. "You promised and then you…you died…you left us." She looked up and out into the sea. The air was cold and the wind touched her hair moving the dark strands across her face. Tears now flowed openly down her cheeks as she stood where he had died. She felt an arm wrap around her.

"He'll always be with you you know." Maggie said softly as she stood beside Sophie and looked out over the water. "He loved you Sophie, you and those three people back there gave him life again. I watched him die, little by little with Sam. Until there was nothing left. Then… then when I saw him again there was a spark of life he had not had for a long time. That was because of you. He did not have a choice; he had to do what he did. I know you know that, but I also know you are angry with him for leaving you, and that is ok. Maybe once we are done here. Once we can close this chapter, you can find a way to…to let him go. You need to do that Sophie, not just for your sake, but for that child's sake. Remember him always, but you need to let go of the pain, of the hate, trust me. It will consume you whole if you don't and that is not what Nate would want for you or his child."

Sophie nodded her head in response. She could not speak; the emotions were too much for her. She allowed Maggie to lead her back to the van and help her in. Then everybody piled in and Eliot drove them to their hotel. Tomorrow, they would start the game.

**Thanks again for all your reviews, please keep them coming. So how do you think Sterling plans on taking out Markison? Why does Sophie feel such a need to go to the Baltic? Please let me know your thoughts on this chapter and speculation for future chapters is always welcome.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"We are not going to get justice from the law, but the mob is a law unto itself and they will give him exactly what he deserves." Sterling finished his briefing.

"Yeah Sterling we got it man." Eliot said gruffly.

"Ok, Hardison, you have everything in position, all the players?"

"Yeah man just as you asked. You sure this is going to work man…?" He asked Sterling again.

"Did you always question Nate like this? Or is it just me you have no faith in?" Sterling said and walked away. He was not expecting an answer, at least not one he would like anyway, but he was getting damn tired of Hardison questioning his every move. Parker and Eliot seemed happy to go along with the plan, and so did the rest, but Hardison…all he did was pick at it and probe for weaknesses. He expected that from Eliot not the Hacker.

"Cut the man some slack Hardison." Eliot said startling the Hacker as he stared after the departing Interpol Agent.

"Cut him some…you know Eliot, this is stupid. Why don't we just send Tara or you in and take this guy out. I mean just kill him." Hardison said his voice hard and cold. "But no…we have to play this game and try to get him taken out by his mob friends instead." He said sarcastically.

"Hardison, we aren't killers, that's not what we do."

"It's what you do." Hardison said looking at the Hitter and then seeing the expression on Eliot's face change at his statement to one of shame. "I'm sorry man…I didn't mean that…it's just…" Hardison took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves. "It's just we lost Nate playing this game with Markison, we lost Nate and we almost lost Parker…" He said and Eliot could hear the emotion and see the fear on his friends face.

"Hardison you know that we can't just kill the guy. That is not what Nate would want. Ok…" He said stopping and smiled slightly at the thought before continuing. "It might be what Parker wants and I wouldn't…no, no…" Eliot shook his head thinking about taking Markison to pieces, making him suffer for Nate. "That's not who we are. It's not who I am, not any more. Now Sterling has a plan and it is going to work so just do your part ok."

"I don't trust him…don't tell me you do." Hardison said looking at Sterling who stood talking to Tara.

"I don't…" Eliot said following Hardison's eyes and then smiling as he looked back at the Hacker. "But in this…in this I do." He said and then he too walked away towards Sophie.

"What the hell does that even mean…?" Hardison muttered under his breath at Eliot's words. He went back to his computers checking and rechecking that their cover stories were in place and everything else Sterling had asked for, muttering continuously to himself about Interpol Agents and ex Hitters.

The plan was simple yet elegant. They would use Markison's dirty business and his underhandedness to ensnare him. His own people would turn on him. There was already and internal power struggle going on, which Hardison had unearthed during his research, and Sterling had used this as the basis for his plan. Parker and Eliot had to be used in such a way that they were not directly involved. Markison knew them, knew their faces and if he saw them again, it would blow the whole thing. Tara would be the catalyst with Sterling stepping in to seal the deal as it were. Maggie was assigned to Sophie duty. She was not cut out to play this kind of game and Sterling wanted somebody to make sure Sophie was alright, the woman was under enormous stress and in emotional turmoil. This was not a good place for a seven-month pregnant mother to be, to be in. Eliot and he had discussed this at length and they decided between them that Maggie would be tasked with that particular assignment. She would be able to tell if Sophie were in trouble, in terms of the pregnancy, and she would be able to guilt Sophie into staying far away from the action. She was perfect for the part.

"Ok guys it's show time…" Sterling said after Hardison informed him that Markison had arrived on schedule. "Eliot, Parker go do your thing. Tara, go make a new friend." He smiled at the ex-CIA operative and one of Sophie's closest and dearest friends. "Hardison, make sure that Romanov is where we want him to be."

Sterling's instructions set them in motion and Sophie watched them all leave. She looked over at Sterling, then stood and walked over to Nate's ex-best friend.

"This is going to work Sophie…" He said as she stopped beside him.

"I know. I just wish I could be there when he gets what's coming to him." Sophie said staring at the image of Markison on the screen. "Why are you doing this Sterling…?" Sophie said softly touching his arm lightly.

"Well Nate will owe me one…" Sterling said lightly disguising his emotions behind his sarcastic wit. "You know how much he will hate that."

Sophie smiled sadly noting that Sterling spoke about Nate as if he were going to be around to 'owe' him one. She knew he had done it unconsciously and she could see that he only realized afterward what he had actually said, and who he had said it too. She could see that he was angry with himself for the way he had phrased his response. She also knew he had done it to make light of the situation because he was here doing something he never thought he would, he was breaking the law to get even for what this man had done to Nate, he was going to do exactly what he had berated Nate for doing all these years.

"No Sterling…I really want to know." Sophie said earnestly as she turned to face him.

Sterling gazed at her for a while before he responded. He saw a woman wracked with grief but still maintaining her composure. He smiled to himself slightly, she was exactly what Nate had needed, and he could see why his friend had loved her so much. They had really been the perfect match.

"Last time I saw Nate…" Sterling said casting his mind back to that incident just over two years ago. "He told me one day I would have to choose between two things…" He said then smiled at the woman. "Well that day came the day you buried him, and I choose Justice…that's all."

Sophie looked at the man. He had at one time been Nate's best friend. He had been horrified when Nate had turned into the very person they had worked together to put behind bars. Then over the years he had come to accept the new Nate, even use him, if that was the right word. He had let Nate go on a few occasions, just like Nate had let her go when he worked for IYS. He had even tried to get Nate back onto the straight and narrow. He had given up on that and accepted who and what Nate had become, and she had seen that change when Sterling had asked for their help to save his daughter, then again when they had worked together to solve the mystery of the painting. She was not sure why their friendship had died, she knew it had something to do with Sam and IYS but Nate never spoke about it. Whatever the reason, she was glad that they had found some middle ground, that they had rekindled that friendship, even if it was not what it used to be.

"Thank you James…" She said softly patting his arm again.

"Sophie, we will get justice for Nate. Markison will pay for what he did, to that girl that you guys saved and all the other girls too, and for what he did to your family. But then you have to promise me you will move on from this. For Nate…for that child, I am doing this so that you can find some peace. I watched as Nate destroyed himself after Sam…and I did nothing then." Sterling smiled sadly shaking his head. "Don't do that. Promise me you will lean on your friends, your family. Let them be there for you, help you through this, and believe me you will get through this, you and your child, his child."

Sophie placed her hand on her stomach and closed her eyes inhaling deeply. Then she looked up and into Sterling's eyes.

"I…I promise." Sophie said her emotions suddenly welling up and threatening to spill over again.

"Good…now I have work to do so go sit there with Maggie…please." Sterling said seeing the tears welling in her eyes.

Sophie returned to the comfortable chairs that had miraculously appeared before Hardison's screens shortly after they had arrived.

"I'm in…" Tara's voice came through the coms a few minutes later.

"Good…sow the seeds." Sterling instructed. "Eliot, Parker…do you have your package?"

"Yeah, on our way back now." Eliot confirmed.

"Alright…Hardison make the call." Sterling instructed the Hacker. He stared at the screen and took a deep breath. "Let the games begin…" He said under his breath as his team, Nate's team moved into action.

**Thanks again for all of the reviews. Hope you enjoyed this chapter too. Please review, I look forward to hearing what you all thought.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

They were so close to pulling it off when it all went horribly wrong. So close to getting away clean, yet so far away from it. Nate saw that they were not going to make it. They might make it off the ship but they would never get off the docks alive. He had to give them some kind of cover, some distraction that would allow them to escape. He knew then what he had to do. It was risky and the possibility of him not getting away himself was great, but he had only one option. He dipped his hand into his pocket and palmed the detonator. He had laid the explosives more as a way of preventing Markison from ever selling the shipment of guns he had onboard. He had planned to blow the ship once they were all safely off.

"Eliot…get her off, then get them back to the hotel, I'll meet you there." He said softly watching his Hitter and his Hacker drag the injured Parker behind a large crate.

"We ain't going anywhere Nate…they got us pinned." Eliot said breathlessly. They were in a hopeless situation now. Pinned behind the crate taking continuous gunfire, this was going to end only one way.

"I'll create a diversion…get them away safely." Nate said. "Eliot…tell Sophie…tell her I'm sorry." He whispered as he pressed the trigger of the detonator.

"What the hell Nate…I'm not…NATE…" Eliot's shouted as the cargo ship they had all been on a second ago heaved in the water as an explosion tore through her bowls. The explosive force threw the people on deck off their feet and then chaos reigned.

"What the hell…" Hardison said with a frightened look.

"Dammit Nate…" Eliot swore, he was not sure what had just happened but whatever had caused that explosion, Nate was caught in the middle of it. "Hardison stay with Parker." He shouted as he sprinted out from his hiding place and towards the waters' edge and the now flame engulfed ship.

Markison's customers, crew and henchmen were making a concerted effort to get off the ship. All of them swept up in the melee and Eliot and his two friends forgotten in the effort to save themselves. Another large explosion ripped through the ship, this one not set off by Nate but by the first explosion, the fires it had started had ignited the fuel and the ammunition on board. Flames licked out and panic stricken men fought to get off the ship before she was completely engulfed in the flames. Eliot swept his eyes across the fleeing people trying to locate the Mastermind. Then he saw him, Nate was still on the deck facing off against Markison. There was another explosion and smoke and flames engulfed the deck obscuring Eliot's view. The Hitter knew though that the deck of the ship was gone, torn to shreds by the explosions happening now one after the other ripping the ship to shreds. Then he saw Markison in the water, he must have been thrown clear after the last explosion. Frantically he scanned the area for any sign of Nate as well. There was nothing, there were bodies in the water and Eliot did not know if one of them was Nate. Diving into the water he swam through the debris scattered around. The first body was not Nate, nor was the second. The third man he encountered was still alive and although Eliot wanted to leave him and move on he could not. He waved his hand attracting the attention of the Emergency workers who were now on the scene. Fire-boats steamed into action and paramedic and sea rescue were pulling people from the murky waters. One of the little rescue boats responded to him and he, along with the injured man were pulled into the boat.

"I have to find my friend…he was on the Ship." Eliot said anxiously.

"This one is gone." One of the lifeguards said pulling a tarp over the man Eliot had tried to rescue.

"Please…he's out there somewhere." Eliot said shivering from the cold of the water he had just been pulled from. The paramedic threw and blanket over his shoulders and looked at him sympathetically.

"If he's out there we'll find him mister. You are lucky to be alive. Just sit down and we will get you back to dry land where the medics can take a better look at you." He said indicating that Eliot should take a seat.

"I don't want to damn well sit down, I want to find my friend." Eliot hissed throwing the blanked off of himself and leaning over the side of the boat scanning the waters below.

Eliot stayed on the little boat as they searched the area. They picked up two more bodies and then made their way back to the docks.

"Maybe your friend has already been pulled out; or maybe he got off the ship before that last explosion…" The captain said in response to Eliot's growl that they should continue looking. "Look…the fact is that everybody who has been pulled out has not made it, and the rest of the rescue ships are reporting no more bodies in the water. If your friend made it he is on the docks…if he was still on that boat with the last explosion and his body hasn't been pulled out…then I am sorry but…he's not going to be found."

Eliot just stared at the Captain. He was right of course. If Nate had been thrown clear one of the rescue boats would have picked him up already. He was probably on the docks, or better yet had left the docks headed for the hotel. He could not bring himself to believe either one of those scenarios, he had seen Nate on the deck when the last explosion happened. Somehow Markison had been lucky enough to have been thrown overboard and into the water, if Nate had been as lucky he would have been picked up by now. Getting off the little boat as it docked he made his way over to the triage station that had been set up. There were at least seven body bags laid out on the cold concrete. Paramedics were treating the injured; some had already been transported to the nearest hospitals. They would have to check there as well. Nobody paid any attention to him as he checked the dead; they were concentrating on the living. Nate was not one of them. He passed through the triage area, but Nate was not one of the patients either. Then he made his way back to where he had left Hardison and the unconscious Parker.

"Nate…?" Hardison asked as soon as the Hitter made his appearance.

Eliot looked at the Hacker with sad eyes and shook his head. "Let's get Parker back to the hotel. Nate probably is already there and waiting for us." Eliot said but his voice carried no conviction with the last part.

Hardison just nodded. Between them they lifted Parker to her feet and then Eliot raised her into his arms. Hardison moved on ahead and got the van which they had parked not far away from their current position. They drove back to the hotel silently. Hardison pulled into underground parking bays and then they made their way into the elevator which took them to the penthouse. They almost expected Nate to meet them at the doors but he didn't. Eliot carried Parker into the main room and carefully checked her injuries. She had a gunshot wound from their first encounter with Markison but that had partially healed and he could see somebody had given her medical attention, or at least cleaned and dressed it. She had some bruises from obvious beatings and she was still unconscious, but there was nothing that warranted a visit to the hospital, she would probably wake up in a few hours with a hell of headache.

"I'm going to the local hospitals…stay here and keep and keep an eye on her." He told Hardison. The Hacker did not argue, he sensed that the Hitter was in no mood to brook arguments and anyway he wanted to stay with Parker, he needed to stay with her.

Eliot returned a few hours later to find Parker still asleep and Hardison sitting beside her holding her hand and watching the footage of the accident, as they were calling it, at the docks. Hardison looked up as the Hitter entered the room and could immediately tell that he had not found Nate.

"He's gone isn't he?" Hardison asked softly.

Eliot did not answer, he did not trust himself to speak, he simply nodded and then looked up at the television.

"They are calling it an accident. They've interviewed Markison who has pledged compensation to all those who were hurt…" Hardison said in disgust. "How did he survive and…" He took a deep breath. "What are we going to tell Sophie?" He whispered staring at the television and trying to fight back the tears that threated to fall.

While the Hacker and the Hitter sat with the unconscious Parker lying between them and watched the television coverage a man was being rushed in for emergency medical treatment at a hospital five miles down the cost.

"What have we got?" the doctor asked as he entered the emergency room.

"White male, severe head injury and lacerations from shrapnel. He has lost a lot of blood and he is hypothermic, he was in the water for a while, his body was washed a little away from the search areas, he was the last to be pulled out. God only knows how he is still alive, but he is. He was in that accident in the docks earlier today." The paramedic explained as they moved the man onto the examination table.

"How did he end up here then? Why isn't he at one of the other hospitals? I don't really have the facilities to handle this kind of injury." The doctor said a little confused as to why he was dealing with this when there were two other clinics or hospitals a lot nearer to where the accident had happened, and they were better equipped. His clinic was a small out of the way one which dealt only with the local people for simple ailments or non-emergency surgeries. He was not a trauma surgeon although he had been in his early career.

"Sorry doc…they were full, not used to having such and influx of patients. I was told to bring him here." The young paramedic said. He wanted to go home, it had been a long day and all he wanted to do was hand over his patient and leave.

"Ok…well he's here now anyway and if we don't get him warm and into an operating theatre soon, all he is going to need is a body bag." he sighed and then started barking orders to his staff.

**So this is a bit of a step back in time, but I thought I would let you all know what happened to Nate as you all seem quite anxious about it. If Nate survived why has he not shown himself? Where is he? I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I look forward to reading all of your reviews.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"How is our boy this morning?" The doctor asked entering the one high care room in the hospital.

"About the same doctor, he hasn't woken up yet." His nurse replied handing the doctor the patients chart as he approached the bed.

"Mmmm…" The doctor murmured as he bent over and started to examine him. "Well he is responding to light now at least." He said as he turned off his small torch and then moved to the bottom of the bed. He is also responding to pain stimulus. He should come out of it in a day or two, then we can assess if there is any other damage." He said making his notes as he spoke.

"We still don't know who he is. I contacted the owner of the ship and told him we have one of his crew here. He sounded surprised, then, after I gave him a description he said he would send someone right over to see him. He didn't say what his name was though."

"Well I suppose we'll find out when they get here. It will be good to have a name to work with, I really don't like calling anybody 'John Doe'." He said handing the nurse back the chart. "Let me know when they get here will you." He said then left the room.

"Well John Doe, at least we'll know who you are, then maybe we can get somebody here to be with you, it can't be nice being all alone." She said talking to him as if he were awake. She straightened up his bed and pulled the sheet up to his chin. "Do you have a family I wonder? Do you have a wife…? A good looking man like you, I can't image that you don't…" She smiled at him. "Well I suppose we will find out later today." She said making her own notes. I'll see you again in about an hour, be good until then won't you…" Natalie Brent said to her patient before leaving.

"He's alive…you idiots…" He ranted at his men after speaking to the nurse at the hospital.

"He was dead, they held a funeral and everything…" Kristoff told his boss. "We checked the hospitals…"

"Obviously not all of them. Now get over there and make sure he does not leave the hospital alive. I told that nurse I would be sending some men to check on him…she thinks he is one of our crew, so you should not have difficulty getting in." Markison sneered at them. "I want him dead…"

"Consider it done boss…" Kristoff said and turned to leave.

They arrived at the hospital two hours later. Nurse Brent met them at reception and offered to take them to their John Doe's room.

"What is his name…?" She asked as they walked.

"Huh…oh…David." Kristoff muttered.

"David huh…well he doesn't look like a 'David'" Natalie said her hair on the back of her neck standing up for some unknown reason. She did not like these two men, something was wrong, she could feel it. "David who?"

"Why all the questions?" Derek Kimbal growled at her.

"He's my patient, I'd like to know his name." Natalie responded her voice was cold having lost all the friendliness of when she had welcomed them.

"David Jenkins." Kristoff said not wanting to create a scene. "Where is he?"

"Right here." Natalie said leading them into the room.

"Thank you." Kristoff said making it clear that he wanted her to leave.

"David…some of your colleagues are here to see you." She said ignoring Kristoff and approaching the man in the bed and taking his hand in hers.

"Thank you nurse, we'll be fine now." Kristoff said

"Yes, well… 'David' is due for his medication and I have to take his vitals so please just carry on as if I wasn't here." She said, saying the name 'David' as if she did not believe it was the man's true name. She did not know exactly why she was suspicious. She did not even know why she cared, but she did, for some reason she had become attached to this man who had been fighting for his life under her care for the last few weeks. She just knew something was wrong and that she could not leave these men alone with her patient.

"Fine…we'll wait outside for you to finish." Kristoff said and left the room followed by his friend. Natalie followed them to the door and then closed it, along with the curtains on the windows.

"Listen David, or whoever you are, you need to wake up now…" She said leaning over him and talking in a hushed urgent voice. "Dammit just wake up will you." She said taking his hand in hers again. She knew she had could not take too long but she also felt in her gut that she should not leave those two thugs alone with her patient, something terrible was going to happen if she did she just felt it.

She was still trying to think what to do when the door opened and the doctor along with the two men walked in.

"Nurse Brent, I thought I told you to call me when this man's friends arrived?" He said in a disapproving voice.

"I am sorry doctor, I was going to call you as soon as I had done the routine checks on the patient." She said her tone not conveying any apology whatsoever, which brought a scowl to the face of the doctor.

"Ok…well thank you Nurse for your diligence in performing your duties, now you can go." He said sarcastically, he did not like it when nurses did not follow his instructions to the letter, and he like her tone even less.

"Doctor I…"

"I said that would be all Nurse." The doctor said dismissively.

Natalie gave the doctor an acid look and then turned to leave; taking note of the slimy smile that Kristoff threw at her. She went back to her desk muttering to herself about insufferable doctors and stubborn patients who just will not wake up. She kept her eyes on the room however and her heart was beating at an alarming rate. She saw the doctor leave and then the door was closed by the two men who stayed alone with the unconscious man. Natalie tried to convince herself she was being stupid. She had no reason to suspect something was wrong; she had no reason to fear for her patient. These were his colleagues, what harm could they mean him. She tapped her fingers on her desk looking at the closed door and her stomach knotted with apprehension. Taking a deep breath she moved to the door and listened closely, there was no sound, not even the sound of voices. What where they doing in there behind closed doors. She put her hand on the handle of the door and inhaled deeply, then she threw the door open and entered the room. What she saw caused her heart to go into overdrive. The man calling himself Kristoff was leaning over her patient holding a pillow over his face. His friend was standing and watching passively.

"What the hell are you doing…" She said loudly drawing Kristoff attention away from his victim. "Get away from him…" She said rushing forward not even considering the danger she could be placing herself in.

"Hey easy there little lady…" Derek said catching the nurse as she tried to pass him to get to her patient. "Kristoff is just making him more comfortable, aren't you Kristoff?" He smiled evilly.

"Get away from him…" Natalie shouted out at the top of her voice, she had left the door open and hoped that somebody would hear the commotion.

"What the hell is going on here?" The doctor said angrily as he entered the room. Then he took the scene in, his nurse was being held by one man and another was leaning over his patient with a pillow in his hand. He did not have to be a genius to figure it out.

"Security…" The doctor called moving further into the room. Just then the heart monitor started screaming out alarms. "Get away from him…" The doctor said still moving forwards. The alarm brought more medical personnel and the two would be assassins beat a hasty retreat, pushing past the incoming personnel. The doctor's attention along with Natalie Brent's was with the patient who was now in respiratory and cardiac arrest.

"Ok…we have sinus rhythm." The doctor said with relief after a frantic few minutes spent trying to revive the man. "Now will you tell me what just happened here?" He said turning towards Natalie.

"I…I don't know…I just felt something was wrong…"

"Well something was definitely wrong, those two men just tried to kill our patient." The doctor said looking at the nurse and his eyes softening. She had saved their patients life, if she had not had some sort of premonition; he had no doubt that the man in the bed would be dead right now. "Just who the hell is this man, and why would those two want to kill him?"

"I don't know." Natalie said looking at the man in the bed who had almost met his end at the hands of the two thugs.

"Who did you speak to, I mean who did you call that brought those two here?" He asked her. Why had they only come now, this man had been lying in his hospital now for a couple of weeks, in fact it had been three weeks since the accident that had brought him here.

"I called the boss, I mean the owner of the ship that was destroyed in that accident." She answered.

"That doesn't make sense. I mean the guy would have known this man was here from the beginning, the paramedic was told to bring him here and surely disaster management who were handling the accident would have informed him of the transfer." The doctor said confused.

"Unless they didn't…they must have thought that he was dead, and when I called…"

"They realized he wasn't and sent somebody to make sure he would be." The doctor finished for her.

"But I still don't understand, I mean it was an accident and this man worked for the owner."

"Maybe it wasn't an accident, maybe this man did not work for the owner. Maybe he is the one to have caused the explosion in the first place. What did you say that owners name was?"

"Karl something or the other…" Natalie thought for a second and then looked at the doctor. "Markison…Karl Markison that was his name."

"Oh…" The doctor said something ringing a bell in his mind.

"You know him?" She asked surprised.

"I know of him, he is a mob guy…" He looked at her seeing she did not understand. "A criminal, ties to the Russian mob…a very bad man." He explained.

"Oh no…so, so he…" She nodded at Nate. "He is too?" She said her voice tinged with disappointment, she had not imaged the man could be anything but good.

"Not necessarily, he could be a good guy and that is why they want him taken care of, maybe he knows too much." The doctor said thoughtfully. He had practiced medicine in areas where the mob were active, he had got tired of the waste of human life and that is why he had moved to this out of the way place, where all he treated were minor illnesses and a few broken bones. Now it seemed he was being thrown back in the thick of it.

"So they will come back for him?" Natalie said fear now replacing the disappointment.

"Yes…but, what if they succeeded the first time?" The doctor said meaningfully. He did not want to get involved in this, not in the least, but he was also not going to allow anything to happen to his patient. When the man woke up he could tell them what all of this was about, until then, it was his duty to keep the man alive, he was his doctor after all.

"What…?" Natalie said momentarily confused. "Oh…oh right." She said then looking at the doctor as she realized what he was implying. "Do we could not revive him..."

"That's right Nurse Brent. I am afraid this man died. Please make sure everybody in the hospital knows that, and especially the way he died." The doctor agreed. "I take it you can find me an out of the way room, far from prying eyes."

Natalie thought for a minute then nodded. "I can do that."

"You my dear are due for a vacation, and I am granting you time off…" The doctor smiled at her.

"What but I thought…" Natalie, then she stopped her angry retort as she saw the look on the doctor's face. "I am going to be on home care duty?" She said tilting her head to one side.

"That's right. Until this man wakes up and we can determine what is really going on here, he is to be cared for by you and only you. If word gets out that he is still alive, I have no doubt that there will be another attempt on his life. Now, you will have to make arrangements to stay here, at the hospital, and you will have to stay away from all other staff. Do you think you can do that?"

"I can do it, and I know exactly where we can put him, in the isolation ward…the one we created when we had that outbreak last year."

"Good thinking Nurse Brent. Make the arrangements, but remember; he is dead, treat him as such until you get him there. He can do without the oxygen, but not for a long period, so make the transfer quick, and do it yourself."

"Yes doctor." She nodded and immediately got to work preparing the patient for transfer to another ward, and making it seem as if he had died.

"Alright. I will see you there in about an hour."

"Right."

"Natalie…if we are going to do this there is no turning back and it could be very dangerous if we get caught out."

"I understand Doctor…but something makes me think he is worth the risk."

The doctor laughed at that. "You don't even know him, he may be worse than the man who is trying to have him killed."

"I know, but I just have a feeling. I can't explain it, but I think he is worth saving."

"Ok…get moving then." The doctor said looking at the patient and wondering if his nurse was right, or if they were both going to be very disappointed when the man did eventually wake up.

**Thank you all so very much for your kind reviews. I am so happy you are all enjoying the story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too. In the next chapter we catch up with the rest of the gang. Please review and let me know what you thought.**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Karl, my boss want's to meet you before the deal goes down." Tara or Sarah as he knew her said running her hand over his chest.

"Of course he does…" Markison smiled at her.

"Then when we have…settled this…"

"Mmmm you mean…" Markison leaned in and kissed her gently. "You will work for me…" He said kissing her again.

"Yes, and then we can take over the other families and…"

"Oh my, my still so very power hungry…" He smiled.

"Romanov is an oaf…he is so…shortsighted." She said in a seductive voice.

"Boss…" Kristoff said as he entered the room and then stopped seeing the woman in his bosses' arms. "Oh… sorry sir."

"What is it?" Markison said moving away from Tara and looking at his second in command.

"It's done sir." Kristoff said.

"You are sure this time?" Markison asked sarcastically.

"Yes sir, it is confirmed."

"Good now get out." Markison said moving to the table and pouring a glass of champagne for himself and Tara. By the time he had turned back to her Kristoff had left the room closing the door behind him.

"A toast my dear…" Markison said handing her the glass.

"And what are we toasting…" She asked taking the champagne flute and raising it to him.

"Oh, the death of David Jenkins…aka Nathan Ford…" He said clinking glasses and taking a sip. Tara had to force herself not to completely blow her cover on hearing Nate's name. She smiled and raised the glass to her lips.

"Who is he…?" She asked regaining her composure quickly.

"A nobody who thought he beat me…but you know my dear…" He said taking her glass and putting it back on the table then pulling her into his arms. "Nobody gets the better of me and lives to tell the tale…nobody." He said kissing her.

"Eliot, you're a retrieval specialist, retrieve that man and get him here now." Sterling said turning to the Hitter. Before the words had even left his mouth Eliot was out the door followed by Parker.

"He…he was alive…?" Sophie whispered trying to make sense of what they had just heard. "All this time he was alive and we just…I just gave up on him…I…"

"Sophie, let's wait till Eliot gets him here and then we can get some answers." Sterling said.

"Sophie it's ok…" Maggie said.

"NO…no Maggie it's not ok…if he was alive we could have saved him, I could have saved him…"

"Sophie don't do this, let's just wait and hear what happened." Maggie said taking Sophie hand. "Please Sophie you need to calm down."

Sophie turned her tearstained eyes to Maggie. She could see her concern for her. Then she felt Maggie's hand pull hers to her stomach.

"You have to think of him Sophie…" Maggie whispered. Sophie looked at her and nodded in response. She sat back into the seat and closed her eyes running her hand over her stomach.

They waited and the tension grew. Tara had extracted herself from Markison telling him she had some shopping to do and would see him later. She was back at their hotel sitting beside Sophie when Parker and Eliot entered the room pushing a bloody Kristoff in front of them.

"Where is Nate…what have you done to him." Sophie immediately asked standing up. Maggie grabbed her and held her back from the man who simply smiled at her as he was pushed passed her and placed in a chair in the front of the room.

"Nate…? Oh…you mean that double crossing son of a bitch David Jenkins?" Kristoff said and was rewarded by a punch from Eliot which almost knocked him off the chair.

"Answer the lady…" Eliot said through gritted teeth.

"Do you know who I am…you are going to regret this…" Kristoff said.

"It's taking everything I have not to kill you on the spot…so before I make you wish you were dead, I would answer the ladies question." Eliot whispered to the man grabbing his neck and squeezing causing Kristoff to writhe in pain and lack of oxygen.

"OK…" He croaked out and Eliot released his hold on him. He sat back in the chair and fingered his neck where Eliot had hold of him.

"If I were you I would just talk, Eliot can be…difficult to stop." Sterling said stepping in front of Kristoff.

"He's dead." Kristoff spat at him.

"In the explosion…?" Maggie asked softly.

"No…turns out he survived that." Kristoff said.

"Then how…" Tara asked drawing Kristoff's eyes to her.

"The bosses lady…" Kristoff said looking at her. "You've been playing him…?"

"Just answer the question Kristoff." Tara said menacingly.

"Ok…well your boy survived the explosion. He didn't survive the visit from me…" He smiled at them knowingly.

"You killed him…you…" Sophie screamed at him and moved towards the man.

"I did what I was ordered to do…and anyway, that explosion killed some of my friends, so yeah I killed him…and I liked doing it too." He said. He knew he was going to die, he could see it on the face of the man standing before him, he was damned if he was going to go out whimpering.

"Where is he?" Sophie said coming to a stop in front of him. "Tell me where he is." She said.

"Brestov Hospital…or that is where he was yesterday…who knows now, no family, no friends, nobody to claim the body…"

Sophie just stood there and stared at him. Then she slapped him across the face the sound crisp and clear. Then she turned away from him and walked to the door.

"Eliot, Parker, Hardison…let's go." She said as she took the keys and left the room.

Eliot looked at Sterling who just nodded. "Go, we'll take care of him…" Sterling said motioning to Tara to help him.

"Eliot…watch her." Maggie said softly.

"I will…" He said as he followed them out.

"What about the plan?" Tara asked as she and Sterling made sure that their captive was secured.

"On hold…" Sterling said. "Until they get back."

"We have him on the hook, we can't wait too long, Romanov is going to hold that meeting whether we are ready or not." Tara said. If they waited then they could miss their chance to.

"You're right." Sterling said thoughtfully. "Get back to Markison Tara." He said and then turned to Maggie. "Are you ready to get into the game Maggie?"

"Ready, willing and able…" Maggie said standing up.

"Ok…well let's do it then." Sterling said. He did not want to complete this without them, but he had no choice, not if they wanted his plan to succeed.

**A bit of a shorter chapter. I hope you all enjoyed. Please leave me your reviews, I really appreciate them. **


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

They arrived in the hospital within thirty minutes. Eliot helped Sophie out of the van and then followed her in along with Parker and Hardison.

"We are here to enquire about David Jenkins." Sophie told the woman at the reception desk. She used the name that Kristoff had because that would probably be the name he was registered as when he was brought here.

"Just a minute…" The woman said checking her system. "If you would please take a seat over there I will get somebody to come and speak with you." She said looking up from her computer and indicating the chairs in the waiting area.

Sophie looked at her and then turned and walked over to the chairs followed by the other three. They took their seats. None of them spoke, they just sat and waited. Five minutes later when a tall brunette nurse approached them.

"You are here for David Jenkins?" She asked approaching them. "I am Sister Natalie Brent, I was the nurse who treated Mr. Jenkins. May I ask your connection to him."

"Yes…he was…he was my husband." Sophie said softly.

"I see. I am sorry but Mr. Jenkins died yesterday of complications from his injuries." She said watching their reactions closely.

"I need to see him…I…please." Sophie said her voice hitching with emotion.

"You say you were his wife?" Natalie asked taking in her condition then looked at the three others surrounding her. "And you people are…?"

"His family…" Eliot stated. "I am Eliot Spencer, this is Parker and Alec Hardison, this…this is Sophie Ford Nathan Fords wife. The man you know…knew as David Jenkins is…was Nathan Ford." Eliot said. "We are here to claim his body. To take him home…"

"I see…" Natalie said. "I am very sorry for your loss. However Mr. Jenkins…or Ford as you say his name was, is no longer here. We are a small clinic with no long term morgue facilities; we sent his body the main morgue for this region."

"Where is that?" Eliot said his voice hard as he fought his emotions. He had hopped upon hope that Kristoff had been lying, that they were going to find Nate here, alive.

"I'll have the receptionist give you the details. Again I am very sorry for your loss." Natalie said then turned and left.

"I hoped…I thought maybe…" Sophie stuttered as she watched the nurse walked away. "I…ahhh…"

"Sophie…Sophie…" Parker called as she moved to the woman's side. Sophie was doubled over holding her stomach and groaning in pain. "Help…we need a doctor please." Sophie called as Eliot helped her move Sophie to one of the chairs.

A doctor was at her side in minutes. "Ok let's get her into an exam room shall we?" He said helping Sophie into the wheelchair a nurse had brought. She was taken into one of the examination rooms and the curtains were drawn closing out the rest of the team. "How far along are you?"

"Seven months…almost eight." Sophie said breathing hard and fighting the pain.

"Ok let's get the fetal monitor on…that's it." He said as he attached the monitors and immediately got the heartbeat of the child inside Sophie. "Good and strong." He said approvingly. Then he continued with the examination. Finally he used the sonar and Sophie could see the image of her son on the monitor. "He has turned. Your time is near…sorry I didn't get your name." He said apologetically.

"Sophie, Sophie Ford." Sophie gritted out as another contraction hit her.

"Well Mrs. Ford you are to take is easy from now on. Your child is getting ready to come into this world. You are in false labor now, but next time it could be the real thing." He said. "I would like to keep you here for a day or so just to make sure everything is alright, and that you don't really go into labor."

"I can't stay." Sophie said shaking her head and trying to sit up. "I have to go."

"Mrs. Ford, you need to rest and take it easy. If you do not you could be jeopardizing your child." He said seriously.

"I…"

"She'll stay here doctor for as long as you need her too." Eliot said opening the curtain and entering followed by Parker and Hardison. They had been listening to the conversation outside and felt now was the time to intervene.

"Eliot…"

"Sophie you are going to stay here. You need to think of that child, Nate's child."

"But…"

"No buts Sophie. You are staying here and Parker is staying with you. Hardison and I will go back to Sterling and finish this. Then we will come back for you."

"What about Nate."

"We'll take him home with us when we are done here." Parker said taking Sophie's hand in hers. "Sophie, he would not want you to risk his son's life, you know that."

"Ok…ok…Go." She said looking at the three of them. They were right. The most important thing now was the health and wellbeing of Nate's unborn son.

"Good." Eliot smiled at her. "We'll be back." He said leaning in and kissing her on the cheek. "Take care of her Parker."

"I will…you take care of Markison." Parker said.

"We will girl, we will." Hardison said pulling her in for a kiss.

"And take care of yourself Hardison…don't you make me come after you." She whispered as she held him close to her.

"I won't…I promise." He smiled kissing her again.

Sophie watched them leave as she lay on her bed and held Parker's hand in hers.

"They'll be alright and they'll get Markison. And you…"

"I'll be fine Parker, and so will my son." Sophie smiled and closed her eyes.

Natalie Brent entered the isolation rooms and approached Nate's bed. She leaned over the man and ran her hand through his hair gently.

"Don't worry, I have taken care of them, you are safe. Nobody is going to get to you I promise." She said softly. "I will protect you."

Nate looked up at her his eyes dull from the drugs and the pain. He smiled at her and nodded closing his eyes. "Who are they?" He asked hoarsely.

"The same people as before, they were checking to make sure you really were dead." She lied to him.

"What did I do to make them so angry…I wish I could remember." Nate said softly.

"Don't worry David. You will remember in time, for now just sleep." Natalie said as she watched him drift into sleep again. "I love you David…or Nathan, or whatever your name is, and I will keep you safe, from all of them." She whispered to the sleeping man as she placed her lips against his.

**OK so what did you think of the twist in the tale? Please review and let me know. **


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

When Eliot and Hardison arrived back at the hotel room they found it deserted.

"What the hell…where are they?" He said as he walked through the suite calling Sterling's name.

"Here Eliot…" Hardison said as he picked up the note Sterling had left for them addressed to Eliot.

"What's it say?" Eliot asked as Hardison opened up the piece of paper.

'_Spencer, we have gone ahead with the job. You take care of Sophie, we'll take care of Markison.'_

"Oh you gotta be kidding me." Eliot said rolling his eyes. "He's getting Maggie involved…what the hell is he thinking."

"He's thinking that there was a time limit on this job for it to work and we took off…"

"We went after Nate." Eliot reminded him.

"I know, I know…" Hardison said holding his hands up in surrender at the tone of Eliot's voice.

"Sterling, where the hell are you…?" Eliot said putting his earbud in.

"We're busy Eliot…everything is under control." Sterling hissed.

"You took Maggie…what the hell were you thinking…Maggie, she is not into this kind of game."

"I am capable Eliot…it's not like I haven't helped you before." Maggie interrupted.

"Not like this Maggie…you could get yourself killed and…well this is not our normal thing."

"Eliot…like it or not I am very much involved. Now let us just get on with it."

"I'm coming down there…"

"No you are not. You come down here and you risk exposing this whole con…" Tara's voice came over the coms.

"Tara…"

"Shut-up Eliot…" She said as Markison entered the room.

"So where is your boss…?" He said as he moved towards her.

"He's on his way…" Tara said. "He'll be here in a few minutes."

"Good, then we can close this deal and then you and I…" He said handing her a drink then clinking glasses with her. "Can really get to know each other..." He said smiling at her.

"To getting to know each other…" She said seductively taking as sip of her drink.

"Hardison, now your help we could use…" Sterling said softly. "Is Romanov ready?"

Hardison nodded and checked his laptop. "According to this he is on his way to the warehouse."

"Excellent…Tara, I'm coming in. Maggie you ready?" Sterling said as he pulled up outside Markison's front gate.

"Ready, willing and able…" Maggie replied.

"Just make sure that the he arrives on time." Sterling said softly.

"Don't worry Sterling, I'll make sure he does, you just make sure you get your part done." Maggie said. "This is for Nate, and we are going to get Markison."

"Yes we are…" Sterling said as he entered Markison's house and was escorted to his study where he found Tara and Markison.

"Tony darling…" Tara said as she threw her arms around him. "I missed you." She said pouting.

Sterling pushed her away harshly. "It looks like it." He said his voice tinged with anger.

"Now Mr. Berton…that is no way to treat a lady."

"She's mine and I'll treat her any way I please." Sterling said. "Now I came here to do business, she said you have something for me."

"Yes…" Markison sneered. "Although I can't understand why you would want that when you have her."

"That is none of your business…Just make sure you have exactly what I asked for. I am paying you a lot of money and lately…well let's just say that your track record in satisfying your clients has not been good."

Markison clenched his jaw at the remarks but bit his tongue. He needed this deal. With the loss of his merchandise on the ship coupled with the incident with his girls. He needed money and he needed a successful deal. Berton was a major player according to his research and he needed to make this deal work.

"She's at the warehouse. We can go there now if you like." Markison said smoothly.

"Fine…Let's go now." Sterling said turning on his heel. "Maggie…we are on our way." He whispered into his coms.

"So are we…with any luck we will get there just after you have taken possession of the merchandise." Maggie replied.

"What was that my dear…?" Carsten Romanov said turning toward his blonde companion.

"I was just saying that I can't wait to show you what I have for you…" Maggie smiled at him. She had found it particularly easy to gain Romanov's trust and then get him interested in what she was selling. Sophie must be rubbing off on her she thought to herself. Of course she had Hardison to thank for her cover and filling in for Parker was not too hard to do, considering Romanov had only spoken to her and not actually met her yet.

"And I can't wait to see it." Romanov said. "How far is this warehouse?"

"Oh we are only a few minutes away." Maggie replied.

"Good…"

They arrived at the warehouse only a few minutes after Markison, Sterling and Tara did.

"So my dear shall we…" Romanov said getting out of the car and holding the door for her.

"Of course…" Maggie said taking his arm and leading him towards the entrance.

"They're coming in…" Eliot said.

"Thanks for the heads up Spencer." Sterling said sarcastically.

"What was that…?"

"Nothing…where is what I purchased?"

He nodded toward his man who had accompanied him. The man nodded and walked to the door on the far side of the warehouse. Opening the door he went inside.

"You are going to like her, young, beautiful and a virgin…" Markison told Sterling.

Sterling hid his disgust at Markison's words and turned towards the door. A few minutes later the man emerged pushing a young woman in front of him. She was young, maybe sixteen, with long flowing black hair. She did not look scared in any way, in fact she looked defiant.

"What do you think…?" Markison asked as he moved towards the woman. "Beautiful isn't she?"

"Markison…what are you doing with my daughter?" Romanov roared out as he entered the warehouse and seeing his daughter in handcuffs in front of his rival. "You took my daughter for your dirty slave trade…" He roared out moving forward swiftly his men following their guns drawn.

"Your daughter…no…I…" Markison stuttered. Moving back towards his men who also had their guns drawn.

"Maggie get out now." Eliot said urgently. Maggie did not respond but she started backing out towards the door of the warehouse.

"His daughter…" Sterling said in his most surprised voice. He raised his hands and turned towards Romanov… "I did not know." He said backing away until he was standing next to Tara poised to run.

Romanov did not even look at him. "You disgust me…get out." He said keeping his eyes fixed on Markison.

"Going…" Sterling said softly and nodding to Tara they both walked backwards towards the door.

"You have gone too far this time Markison. I was told to leave you alone, even after you cost me millions on that ship, but this…this I do not forgive." Romanov said.

"Carstens…I've been set up…" Markison said regaining some of his composure.

"I…don't…care." Romanov said his voice hard and deadly. "Peter, take my daughter out of here now, I will deal with her later." He instructed his man. Peter nodded and taking the girls arm led her out of the warehouse.

"You shoot Karl and we both die." Markison said.

"You think so…" Romanov smirked.

"Think about it Karl, why would I do something like this…I was set up I'm telling you."

"Right, somebody kidnapped my daughter and brought her here without your knowledge so that you could sell her to some pervert…do you take me for a fool Markison?"

"No…but I'm telling you that is what happened."

"You dirty, rotten bastard…" Romanov said as he lifted his gun and fired. The bullet hit Markison in the chest dropping him to the ground and then the warehouse exploded in gunfire. By the time it was over both Romanov and Markison lay dead along with most of their men.

"You are free to go." Sterling said to the young woman whom they had liberated from her guard.

"My father…?" She asked.

"Dead..." Tara said simply. "He'll never hurt you again."

"Thank you." She said then turned and walked to the car. "I can never thank you enough."

"It was our pleasure." Maggie said smiling. The girl smiled back and then climbed in the car and drove away.

"Now that is what I call a win." Tara said turning towards the remaining car.

Maggie and Sterling did not reply. This was not what they would call a win, although they had rid the world of two evil people and saved a young girl from terrible abuse. Still their actions had led to the death of more than a few people, and although they did not regret their actions, they did not particularly want to celebrate them either.

"Let's go home shall we. I really don't like this place." Maggie said softly.

"Right…" Sterling said taking Maggie's arm and leading her to the car Tara was already in and ready to go.

"We'll wait for you here and then head back to the hospital." Eliot said.

"The hospital…why? Where is Sophie?" Maggie asked anxiously.

"She's a patient. She went into false labor. Parker is with her."

"Oh God…" Maggie gasped. "Tara…"

"Going…" Tara said flattening her foot on the accelerator.

**So what did you think of the con? I hoped you enjoyed it. Please review and let me know.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"He is doing much better." The doctor said after examining Nate. "You say he is awake for longer periods now…" The doctor said looking at the charts.

"Yes he is. We have spoken but he does not remember anything, he has dreams about the explosion but nothing else, he does not remember any family or even his real name…Although it could be David Jenkins as that man called him. I told him about the attempt on his life, I felt he should know the danger he was in." Natalie said as she took the chart back from him after he had made his notes.

"Have there been any more inquiries about him, any visitors?" He asked.

"No."

"Well that's good. They probably bought the story that he is dead. I don't think we have anything more to worry about." The doctor said smiling at the nurse. "I am sure with time he will be able tell us who he is and where we can get hold of his family, assuming he has one."

"I don't think he does doctor. Surely if he had they would have come looking for him by now."

"True, you would think so, but if they did not inform Markison about his whereabouts, then they could not have informed anybody else either." The doctor said thoughtfully. "No, I think when he can tell us a little more, we will have to try to find his family for him." He said watching as Natalie straightened out Nate's bed and made him comfortable. "He is very lucky to have you Natalie." He smiled at her, very lucky indeed.

"It's nothing doctor. I mean he deserves to be taken care of and, well I feel for him."

"Yes, but still you have gone way beyond the call of duty on this one." The doctor said. "Well I better be going, I have morning rounds. I will be back later this afternoon. Can I get you anything; I mean you've been cooped up here with our patient for a few days now. Perhaps this afternoon I can stay with him for a while whilst you go home."

"No…" Natalie said quickly then seeing the expression on the doctors' face she smiled at hm. "No I am fine…really. Besides I am more than comfortable here and there is no reason for me to leave him alone." Natalie said.

The doctor smiled back at her but his face also conveyed concern. His nurse was becoming far too attached to this patient, she never left his side, hell she never left this room as far as he could tell. She was always holding his hand or having some form of physical contact with him, which she tried to hide when he arrived. Then he shook his head. No, he told himself, it was just that the current circumstances were causing her to behave in this manner. The fact that somebody had tried to kill the man, the fact that she had saved him, had put herself in danger to do just that, that was probably why she felt such a strong connection to him. Besides Natalie always connected with her patients, so why would he be worried about this one. Still he would be happier when they could find his family, or he could at least remember who he was and from where. The sooner they sorted this mess out the better, for everyone concerned.

"Fine, but you also need to take care of yourself Natalie. Be careful Natalie, we don't know who this man is or what he is capable of, you can't get too attached to him." He said then looked at his watch. "Ok, I must be going; I will see you at around three…" He said as he left the room.

Natalie watched him leave and then turned back to Nate who was starting to stir. Quickly she moved to his side and took his hand running her other hand through his hair.

"Natalie…" Nate said opening his eyes and looking up at the nurse.

"Yes I am here…I will always be here." She said softly.

Nate smiled and shifted himself in the bed trying to push himself up.

"Here, let me help you. You just missed the doctor." Natalie said leaning over him and helping him into a sitting position. She leaned in close as he held on to her and leveraged himself up. "He said you are doing very well considering."

"Thank you…" He said softly as she fluffed out his pillows and then lowered him back down onto the bed gently.

Natalie smiled at him happily. "You are much better this morning. More…here." She said lightly.

"Mmmm I do feel better." He said taking a sip of the water she offered him.

"What are you thinking?" Natalie asked as she watched him for a few minutes. He was deep in thought his brows knotted in concentration.

"I…I keep having these dreams…"

"I know, about the explosion…" Natalie said running her hand through his hair.

"That yes…"

"David…"

"That's not my name Natalie…I don't know how I know that but it's not."

"Then what is it?" Natalie said.

"That I don't know…" Nate said sighing heavily.

"Well don't worry about it, I am sure it will come back to you in time. You know it was only yesterday that you woke up." She said patting his hand lightly. "All you should be worrying about is getting better, stronger."

Nate smiled at her and nodded. "With you looking after me how can I not?" He said softly.

Natalie looked down at him and then leaned into him kissing him gently on the lips. Nate felt her lips linger on his then raised his hand and gently pushed her away.

"I can't…" He said almost apologetically. "I…"

"What, what is it. I love you…." Natalie said softly tears pricking at her eyes as she spoke, she had not meant to say those words and she could see the shock on his face at her admission, but now that she had, she was glad. She was glad he knew how she felt because now he was free to give into his feelings for her.

"Natalie you don't even know me. I don't even know me." Nate replied, breaking her illusion that he would admit his love for her and embrace her fully.

"I know enough." Natalie said softly.

"No you don't, you think you love me but like you said, I only woke up yesterday. You fell in love…or you think you did with an unconscious man whom you know nothing about. Natalie, I could be like those men who tried to kill me. I could be the one who caused the explosion on that ship that killed a lot of people…"

"I don't believe that."

"But it could be true whether you believe it or not."

"I don't care…and even if you did you must have had a good reason."

"But I do. Until I know who I am and what I am…If I have a family…"

"Oh so that is what bothers you, you think you may have a wife out there somewhere…maybe a kid?" Natalie said pulling back her voice suddenly taking on a harsher tone the image of the pregnant woman from yesterday manifesting in her mind.

"I don't know…Yes maybe…I just don't know." Nate replied closing his eyes as he tried to gather his thoughts. For some reason her words cut through him causing him pain. A child…did he have a child and a wife somewhere out there? He felt as if he did, he felt as if there was somebody out there looking for him and he be betraying them if he gave into Natalie's advances.

"If you did, don't you think they would have come looking for you? If you had a family don't you think they would miss you and search for you until they found you, even if they thought you were dead? If you were my husband, if you belonged to me, I would never stop looking." Natalie said taking his hand and lifting it to her lips. "I have never felt such a connection with anybody…never, you are a good man, I can feel it, and I do love you, I fell in love with you David Jenkins. If you believe nothing else, believe that." She whispered kissing his hand again then holding it to her chest.

"I do…I do believe you love me, but Natalie…"

"But nothing." She snapped her anger suddenly building. Why would he not accept her love? Had she not risked everything for him had she not taken care of him? She was here with him, she was protecting him and he was still fighting her. She knew he felt something for her, she was sure of it.

"I'm tired Natalie…" Nate said not wanting to argue any more. He was tired. More tired than he had ever been in his life. He was still weak and he was confused, his mind a mess of images and faces that he had not told her about. His dreams were that of explosions and death yes, but he also dreamed of them. Four people who kept appearing in his dreams, haunting him. A beautiful brunette woman dominated his dreams, one who called to him and he desperately wanted to go, he knew he loved her whoever she was, and no matter what Natalie said, he knew somebody was looking for him, she was looking for him.

"You need to rest, come on lie back…" Natalie said her voice again soft and loving. She helped him slide down into the bed and pulled the covers up over him. She placed her hand on his head and leaned in to kiss him again. Nate did not resist, but he did not respond to the kiss either. She let her lips linger on his for a moment before standing back and looking at him. Then she moved to the cabinet beside his bed and took out a syringe.

"What's that…?" Nate asked already drifting into sleep.

"The doctor prescribed it to help you sleep." Natalie said injecting the fluid into Nate's IV. "Sleep now my love…everything will be alright, you'll see." She said as the sedative she had given him took effect. "I am your family now…in time you will see that."

**Thank you all so very much for your reviews. Please let me know what you thought about this chapter, I really enjoy all the feedback that you give me. **


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Is it over?" Sophie asked as they entered her hospital room later that evening.

"It's over. Markison is dead." Eliot confirmed to her.

Sophie nodded and closed her eyes as she lay back in the bed. "Rest easy now my darling…" She whispered.

Parker squeezed her hand gently as she heard the quietly spoken words. Hardison and Eliot gathered around her bed with the other three hanging back. Sophie opened her eyes and looked at Eliot.

"We need to take Nate home." She said.

"Yeah we do. It's too late now to go to the morgue, we'll go first thing tomorrow morning." Eliot said.

"The doctor said Sophie has to stay here overnight at least." Parker said. "She hasn't had any more contractions but they are worried that she might go into labor."

"Either way Sophie…you can't fly." Maggie said moving to Sophie's side. "It would be too dangerous for both you and the baby."

"You want me to have this child here." Sophie asked the woman with wide eyes.

"You don't have an option. Sophie believe me, it's better you stay here." Maggie affirmed.

"I don't want to." Sophie said firmly. "Nate died here…I…I just don't want to."

"Then we will find another hospital. But you cannot fly and that is final. If you do you are risking everything, you are risking your life and his." Maggie said.

"Maggie I still have a month to go." Sophie said exasperatedly. She wanted her baby born in the United States, she wanted to go home.

"Yes and you should not have been flying in the first place, but with these complications, you are definitely not flying." Maggie said adamantly.

"Fine…" Sophie gave in. She knew Maggie was right, there was no way she would risk the life of her and Nate's unborn son. If anything happened to the baby she would never forgive herself. She had lost Nate and the only part of him she still had was this child.

"Ok then it's settled. You stay here overnight and tomorrow we go back to town and settle in until the little one is born... then we all go home." Eliot said quietly. Nate would be going home with them and they could lay him to rest properly beside his son.

"Yes, but I am afraid I can't stay here for a month or more. So I will take my leave of you now." Sterling said stepping forward. "Sophie, just remember what you promised me…" He smiled sadly at her. "Take care of yourself, and that baby."

"I will. Thank you Sterling…thank you for…everything. You are a good man James…I finally understand what Nate saw in you as a friend." She said taking his hand.

"I'll see you around." Sterling said withdrawing his hand and rather unsuccessfully trying to hide his emotions. Then he turned and walked out the room.

"I can stay…If you want me too." Maggie said.

"I would really like that." Sophie smiled at Nate's ex-wife. She had grown fond of Maggie and they had become good friends. Besides she was the only one here that knew anything about babies and Sophie would feel more comfortable with her around.

"But I have to go." Tara said stepping forward. "If you need anything Sophie…anything at all you just call you hear me." She said taking her friends hand.

"I will." Sophie smiled at her.

"Good…" Tara said then turned to the rest of the team. "Look after her, and the little one…if you don't you know you will have to answer to me." She smiled at them.

"We will…" Parker said pulling the Grifter into a hug. "Thank you Tara, for everything."

"No problem…" Tara said softly. She was part of this little family, a distant aunt maybe, but part of it. The fact that Parker had hugged her was evidence enough of that. "Just remember…anything you need, any of you…you have my number."

"We will, and you take care of yourself." Eliot said. Then Tara also left leaving the five on them alone in the room.

"So…why don't you all go back to the hotel and get cleaned up and have something to eat. It's been a long day." Sophie said.

"We can do that in shifts…" Parker said not wanting to leave the woman alone.

"Parker please, I need some time on my own and I am safe and sound here. If anything happens the nurses or the doctor will contact you. Please…" Sophie said. She needed some time on her own, she needed to process everything that had happened and she did not feel like talking, not to anybody.

"Ok…but we'll be back later tonight." Eliot said before any of the others could say anything. Sophie wanted to be alone, she needed it. If that was what she wanted then that is what they would give her. But they would not be gone for longer than a couple of hours at the most then they would be back.

"That's fine." Sophie smiled at them.

"Ok…" Parker said standing up. "Sophie…"

"Parker really…please just get out of here ok." She said smiling at her.

"Come on girl…we could both use a shower and some clean clothes." Hardison said taking her hand and leading her towards the door.

"You have your phone and…" Eliot placed an earbud on the table beside the bed. "Just in case..." He smiled. "We'll make sure the nurse has our numbers as well."

"Just go already…I'll be fine." Sophie said. She watched them walk out and then lay back in the bed and let the tension of the day filter out of her. Markison was dead. He had paid a dear price for what he had done to Nate, to all of them. For what he had taken from them, from her, from her son…Suddenly the sorrow and the tension and the emotion of the day overwhelmed her and she started to cry uncontrollably.

"Hey there…" A nurse said as she entered the room. "Now you are going to have a baby…that should be a happy thing shouldn't it." She asked as she approached the weeping Sophie.

"It…it is…" Sophie said but did not stop crying.

"Then why are you crying?" She asked softly sitting down beside Sophie.

"I…my husband…he's…he's…he died." Sophie sobbed.

"Oh I am so sorry…I didn't know." The nurse said taking Sophie's hand in hers. "How long ago did he pass?" She asked. In her experience, it was always better if somebody could talk about their loss, beside, she could not make it much worse than what it was. Her patient was eight months pregnant and had just gone through false labor, being this upset could induce another onset of false labor or labor itself.

"A few days ago…" Sophie said. "He died here, in this hospital." She said wiping her eyes and looking at the nurse.

"Here…" The nurse said in surprise. "What was his name?"

"Nathan…Nathan Ford." Sophie said giving Nate's real name without thinking about it.

"I am sorry…how did he die?" She asked, Sophie had stopped sobbing now and had calmed down slightly.

"I don't know…he was in an explosion and then he was brought here and then…A nurse told me he died of his injuries…but I…I just don't know." Sophie said feeling an unspeakable sorrow wash over her, drowning her.

"Here…I don't know of a Nathan Ford who died here, but there was a David Jenkins…" The nurse said.

"Yes…yes the name he was given here was David Jenkins." Sophie said softly.

"I truly am sorry Mrs. Ford. But you know, you have him…and your husband will always be with you through your son." She said soothingly, placing her hand on Sophie stomach. "Now perhaps I can get you something, something that can help you sleep?"

"No…no…I'm fine, really." Sophie said lying back in the bed and rubbing her belly. "I just…it's just…I'm fine really." She said not sure what she really wanted to say, except that she missed Nate so very, very much.

"Alright…but you need to rest Mrs. Ford." The nurse smiled at her. She helped Sophie settle back into the bed and made sure her water was filled and her covers were pulled up over her. "I will check in with you again a little later. Are your friends coming back?" She asked.

"Yes…they are." Sophie replied.

"Ok then…I can stay if you want. We can talk about…well anything." She said.

"No…no. Thank you but I am really tired. Besides you have already helped…" She smiled at the nurse sadly. "He is gone, but you are right, I will always have a part of him with me." She said still resting her hand on her belly.

"Yes you do…" The nurse smiled at her. "Now if you want anything, something to help you get some sleep, just ring the bell ok."

"Ok." Sophie said and the nurse took her leave.

Sophie lay back in the bed and closed her eyes, her hand gently rubbing her stomach. She lay like that for a few minutes and then exhaustion overtook her and she drifted into sleep. In her dreams she saw Nate playing with his son and a silent tear slipped down her cheek.

"How is she?" Her colleague asked as Valarie Vincent walked back to the night shift desk.

"How would you be if your husband had just died and you were about to give birth to your first child." She asked sitting as she took a pile of charts and started to work through them.

"Shame…I didn't know her husband had died." Jessica Valentine responded.

"Yes…he was that guy David Jenkins, he died here from his injuries after the explosion on that ship…very sad."

"Yes…yes that is very sad, it must be hard for her."

"Yeah I can't imagine what she must be going through." She said then looked up from her charts. "But funny thing is she called him by a different name…Nathan Ford…weird huh? Although it makes sense her being registered as Mrs. Ford…"

"Yeah that is weird." She replied then looked down as her pager sounded. "Oh…Dr. Harper want's me…I can't wait until Dr. Hunt comes back tomorrow. Harper is such a pain in the ass."

Valarie laughed at that. She also could not wait for Dr. Hunt to come back. He had been on leave for the last two days. "Yeah he will be back tomorrow for morning rounds." She said lightly. "I can't wait either…hey…" Valarie said suddenly remembering something. "David Jenkins was his patient. Maybe tomorrow he can talk to Mrs. Ford…let her know what happened. Give her some closure you know."

"Yeah, anyway I better go before Dr. Harpers goes ballistic." Jessica said and then disappeared down the corridor leaving Valarie to continue with the charts.

She checked in with Mrs. Ford again. She found the room full of people. All of them asleep except for one.

"Nurse Vincent isn't it…" Eliot greeted her as she entered the room.

"Right…"

"I'm Eliot." He said holding out his hand.

"Pleased to meet you…I see the patient is asleep. I just need to do some checks and then I'll be gone." Valarie said then moved to Sophie's bed to check the readings on the monitors.

"Everything good…?" Eliot asked as she finished.

"Everything is fine…and the baby's heartbeat is strong." Valarie confirmed.

"Good." Eliot said lightly.

"She is a very strong woman…losing her husband and all." Valarie said.

"The strongest I know…" Eliot said looking at Sophie as she slept.

"Ok…well I will see you a little later." Valarie said as she left the room.

Eliot watched her go then turned back to Sophie.

"You are the strongest woman I know Sophie and we will get through this, all of us…" He said softly then took his seat and closed his eyes to try to get some sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a very difficult day for all of them.

**Thank you all so very much for the reviews. Please review and let me know your thoughts on this chapter. What do you think is going to happen tomorrow when the doctor does his rounds? What will happen when Eliot and the rest do not find Nate's body at the morgue? **

**Thank you all so very much for your reviews. Please let me know what you thought about this chapter, I really enjoy all the feedback that you give me. **


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Sophie…Sophie wake up…Sophie…" Maggie said softly shaking the woman gently.

"Maggie…" Sophie whispered as she opened her eyes coming out of the terrible nightmare she had been trapped in.

"Yes. Are you alright?" She asked helping Sophie to sit up and giving her some tissues to wipe her eyes with.

Sophie nodded taking the tissues and wiping the tears off her face. The dream was so real. She saw Nate and he was reaching out for her, he was standing on the end of a precipice and she could not get to him, and then he was falling and there was nothing she could do…She was calling to him screaming his name; that was when Maggie woke her.

"Here, drink this." Maggie said giving her a glass of water.

"Where are the others?" Sophie asked looking around the room and seeing that it was only her and Maggie there.

"They…they left about an hour ago."

Sophie knew where they had gone to. They had gone to identify Nate's body at the morgue and to make arrangements for it to be sent home. She rubbed her hand over her face closing her eyes briefly.

"What time is it?"

"Nine. The nurse was in earlier. Everything is fine…the baby's heartbeat is strong. She said that the doctor will be in at about eleven."

"Thanks Maggie." Sophie said sitting back in the bed. Then she inhaled deeply. Then she sat up and swung her legs over the bed. "I think I need a shower, a long hot shower."

"I think that would be good. I'll go down and get us something from the canteen…you missed breakfast, we didn't want to wake you."

"Ok." Sophie said climbing off the bed as Maggie moved to the door. "Maggie…"

"No Sophie it doesn't. It never goes away. But it does get better." Maggie said turning around and pulling her into a hug.

"I miss him so much Maggie…when I close my eyes I see him, and then sometimes I dream…"

"I know Sophie, I know." Maggie running her hand over Sophie's back.

"Ok…I'm going to shower now…" Sophie said pulling back from Maggie after a few minutes.

"Good, I'll see you in a bit. Anything special I can get you?"

"No…I'm honestly not that hungry." Sophie smiled.

"I know, but you have to eat Sophie." Maggie said picking up her bag. "Now go shower." She smiled and left for the canteen.

Sophie watched her leave and then made her way into the bathroom. She closed the door and turned on the shower. After disrobing she entered the shower allowing the water to wash over. She closed her eyes and relished the feel of the hot water over her skin. She stood like that for almost five minutes just standing under the strong pulse of the water as the bathroom filled with steam. The water streamed down her face hiding the tears that were flowing again. It seemed to her that was all she did these days. "_Damn you Nate…you are…were…are the only man who could ever make me cry like this…God I miss you." _She said running her hands over her face wiping the water and the tears away. She finished washing and then got out and got dressed in her clothes. She was not staying in this hospital for any longer than she had to. She'll see the doctor and then they would go. She had to have her baby here in this country, but she did not need to have him here in this hospital where her husband died. That she did not need to do, that she was not going to do.

"Sophie…" She heard Maggie call as she finished dressing.

"Be out in a minute." Sophie said as she put the finishing touches on. She always liked to look good, it made her feel good. She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled sadly.

"Hey…" Maggie said as Sophie exited the bathroom. "You feeling better…?"

"Much." Sophie said taking a seat on one of the chairs.

"I see you dressed and ready to leave…?" She said raising her eyebrow.

"Don't worry Maggie…" Sophie said as she accepted the sandwich Maggie gave her. "I'm not going anywhere until the doctor tells me I can." She said…"Mmmm this is good." She said taking a bite of the sandwich.

"Yes for a hospital canteen it isn't half bad." Maggie smiled at her. They ate in silence and then sat in silence. Neither one wanted to talk, neither one knew what to say.

"Mrs. Ford…" The doctor said as he walked through the door and bringing both of them out of their reverie, followed by his nurse. "I'm Doctor Hunt, I have checked your charts and see no reason that you cannot go home today." He smiled at her. "You will have to take it easy of course, and no flying or long trips. Your baby is doing well but he could arrive at any time so it is best if you stayed close to a hospital." He told Sophie.

"Yes I understand. We have made arrangements." Sophie said.

"Good, then I can sign your discharge papers." Dr. Hunt said as he signed the papers and handed them to his Nurse. As soon as they are processed you are free to leave."

"Thank you Dr. Hunt." Sophie said.

"Good, then take care of yourself Mrs. Ford." Dr. Hunt said then replaced the chart and left, followed by his nurse Jessica Valentine.

"Doctor did you know Mrs. Ford knew your patient David Jenkins, the one that died." Jessica said as she walked with Dr. Hunt to the next patient's room.

"What…no, how did she know him?" He asked stopping dead at Jessica's words.

"Well, apparently she was his wife, Valarie spoke to her last night and she told her so."

Dr. Hunt just stared at the nurse as she spoke. This woman was David Jenkins wife…

"Dr. Hunt are you alright?"

"Fine…fine…Valarie, please get Dr. Harper to complete the rounds. I have to speak with Mrs. Ford."

"Ok…I think it would give her some closure to know what happened to her husband." Valarie said as the doctor turned on his heel and walked back towards Sophie's room.

"You have no idea…" Dr. Hunt said under his breath. He got to the room and stepped inside.

"Dr. Hunt…" Sophie said looking up at him as he entered the room. "Is there a problem?" She asked seeing the look on the doctor's face.

"No…no problem…I was just wondering if I could speak to you about your husband." He said and then saw a darkness cross her face at the mention of her husband.

"He…he's dead." She said softly.

"I treated David Jenkins here for his injuries Mrs. Ford…and I need to speak to you about him please." The doctor said. "Please take a seat."

"What is this all about doctor?" Maggie said concern in her voice. Why was the doctor so adamant to talk about Nate, and how did he even know that David Jenkins was Nathan Ford.

"I will explain everything, but first Mrs. Ford I think you should sit down." He said. Sophie did as she was bid, with Maggie seated beside her. The doctor fetched a chair and placed it in front of them.

"David Jenkins was brought into our hospital a couple of weeks ago with very serious injuries, including a head trauma. Injuries he sustained when the ship he was on exploded."

"We know that." Maggie said.

"Yes…well I operated on Mr. Jenkins…"

"Ford, his name was Nathan Ford." Sophie corrected the doctor. She was tired of everybody calling him by another name.

"Of course, but we were informed his name was David Jenkins…anyway, I operated on Mr. Ford and was able to stabilize him and repair the damage. Mr. Ford however remained in a comatose state after the operation so we were unable to determine his real name, in fact we did not even have the name David Jenkins for him at that time. A couple of weeks later, actually only a few days ago two men were sent here from Mr. Markison, Mr. Ford's employer…"

"He wasn't Nate's employer…" Sophie corrected him again.

"Well regardless that was the information we had on him. The two men who came here had nefarious intentions…in fact they came here to kill Mr. Ford."

"Kristoff…" Sophie whispered.

"Yes the one man's name was Kristoff." The doctor affirmed looking at Sophie curiously. How did she know that he wondered? But this whole situation was a little weird to him and he just shook his head slightly before continuing. "Anyway, thanks to Nurse Natalie Brent they were unsuccessful in their attempt on his life."

"What…they were unsuccessful…Nate wasn't killed…" Sophie said sitting a little straighter in her chair and staring at the doctor. "Then how did he die…?"

"He didn't…" Eliot's voice cut into the conversation as he, Hardison and Parker entered the room.

"Eliot…" Maggie said now totally confused by the course the events had taken.

"There is no body at the morgue, they have never heard of David Jenkins." Eliot explained looking at her and Sophie.

"But the nurse said…she said he had died here of his injuries…that they had sent his body to…She told us he had died."

"That was the story that we used to hide the fact that the assassination attempt by Mr. Markison was unsuccessful."

"Nate's alive…" Sophie said not hearing anything after that realization started to set in. The doctor was telling her that Nate was alive.

"Yes…yes David Jenkins, or Nathan Ford as you call him is very much alive." The doctor affirmed.

"Where is he…?" Sophie said standing up. "Take me too him now." She demanded.

"Yes of course. If you will come with me we can go to him. We kept him safe, in the isolation unit. I was afraid that if Markison should suspect he had failed he would send more. I am sorry for the ruse. I was not aware that you were his family…"

They group exited the room and made their way at a brisk pace urged on by Sophie, to the isolation section. The doctor led them into the section that they were hiding Nate in and called out Natalie's name as he entered the room to alert her to the fact that they were coming. He got no response to his hail and quickly pushed open the door. He stopped dead on entering. The room was empty.

"Natalie…" The doctor called out again.

"Nate…" Sophie called out pushing into the room.

"What the hell…" Eliot said going through the small room and the bathroom attached. "What's going on here doctor…?"

"I don't know…" Dr. Hunt said unable to comprehend what was happening. "They were here this morning. I checked on them and then came up for rounds…"

"Well he's not here now." Parker said turning to the doctor.

"No…but there must be an explanation, maybe Natalie took him for…" The doctor stopped. Where would Natalie take him? He pulled out his phone and dialed the nurse's number. A cellphone rang in the room breaking the silence. "She left her phone…" He said more bewildered than before.

"Who is this Natalie…?" Hardison asked looking at the doctor.

"My nurse… She was taking care of him down here. I don't know where she could be. What is going on here…?" He said looking at Eliot his eyes suddenly going wide with a frightening thought. "Markison, he found out, he came back…"

"No doctor that is not possible. Markison is no longer in the picture." Eliot said softly.

"Not in the picture…" Dr. Hunt repeated then suddenly comprehended what Eliot was saying. "Who are you people…who is Nathan Ford and what the hell has happened to my patient and my nurse?"

"I don't know…" Eliot said looking over at Sophie who was sitting in her chair staring at the empty bed with Maggie sitting next to her with her arm around her.

"Well, we better find out, Mr. Ford is seriously ill, he cannot be out of the hospital, although he was recovering well, he was still in a serious condition, and my nurse…"

"Don't worry doctor we are going to find out, and we are going to find them." Eliot growled out. The fact that Nate was alive was barely sinking in, now he was missing along with a nurse. Eliot sighed and rubbed his hand over his face.

"Ok…Hardison the phone, get everything you can out of it. Parker, we need to go over this room with a fine toothcomb, we need to know what happened in here."

"Ahhh…oh God…." Sophie suddenly called out doubling over and holding her stomach. The doctor was at her side immediately.

"Ok…Mrs. Ford let's get you back to your room…" He said. This was going from bad to worse. Mrs. Ford was going into labor again.

"Maggie…"

"Go Eliot, find Nate…I'll take care of her." Maggie said helping the doctor get Sophie into the wheelchair that Parker had retrieved from somewhere. "Just find him." She said as she followed the doctor who wheeled Sophie out and back towards her room.

**Thank you all again for your reviews they are greatly appreciated. So what do you think happened to Nate and Natalie? Do you think Eliot and the others will be able to find them before Sophie gives birth? Please let me know what you felt about this chapter, I look forward to reading each and every review.**

**Thank you all so very much for the reviews. Please review and let me know your thoughts on this chapter. What do you think is going to happen tomorrow when the doctor does his rounds? What will happen when Eliot and the rest do not find Nate's body at the morgue? **

**Thank you all so very much for your reviews. Please let me know what you thought about this chapter, I really enjoy all the feedback that you give me. **


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Maggie paced impatiently outside Sophie's hospital room. Eliot joined her ten minutes later, he had left Parker and Hardison to go over the room Nate had been kept in to try to find some clue as to what happened. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the door opened and Dr Hunt emerged.

"How is she?" Maggie asked immediately.

"Fine for the moment, but I am afraid she is going to have to stay here for a while. She has an elevated blood pressure and we need to keep an eye on that. This is her first child and she is not a young woman. The baby's heartbeat is still strong though so there is no immediate cause for concern however I cannot allow her to leave here at least for the next few days. It will not be safe for either her or the child." Dr Hunt said.

"Alright doctor. Can I go in now?"

"Yes…try to keep her as calm as possible. I know under the circumstances that that is not going to be easy."

"No it's not." Maggie sighed. She was not calm so she could just image what Sophie was going through.

"We need to talk." Eliot said hanging back as Maggie went in to be with Sophie.

"Yes we do…" The doctor said. "Why don't we go to my office?" He said. Eliot nodded and followed the doctor as he led the way. "Take a seat." He said as they entered the office and the doctor closed the door behind them.

"I need a photo of Natalie, I also need to know where she lives. I also need to know about Nate, what his condition is and what we can expect when we find him." Eliot said getting straight down to business as the doctor took his seat behind the desk.

"Right yes of course, but there are a few things I need to know too. Like who is Nathan Ford and why was he using an assumed name. What was he doing on that ship in the first place and why did Markison want him dead. I would also like to know exactly who you people are. Natalie Brent is a colleague and a friend and a good woman, I need to know what kind of danger she is in." The doctor replied. "Now I know you want to go and find your friend, and I want you to find my nurse, but I need to know what is going on."

"Fair enough..." Eliot said sitting back in his chair. He really did not want to waste time going over the whole affair but he could see the doctor was not going to co-operate without some kind of insight as to the situation he was now faced with. "I am Eliot Spencer; my friends are Parker and Alec Hardison. Maggie Collins is Nate's ex-wife and friend, and Sophie is his wife. We are his family. Our business entails helping people, people who can't help themselves. We were hired to retrieve a young woman who had been taken by Markison to sell to the highest bidder. There was a problem and Nate stepped in to help. He saved our lives and got us off the ship Markison was doing his deals on, we got off but Nate was caught in the explosion that happened, we thought he was dead until you told us he wasn't. Now I don't have time to go into the details, but trust me doctor, we are the good guys and Nate…well Nate is the best there is. I will do anything to get him back safely, along with your Nurse Natalie Brent. Believe me my only priority right now is retrieving them."

The doctor sat and listened to the young man's story. He knew Markison to be a bad man, a member of the Russian Mob and could well imagine what his business entailed. He did not know these people, but he felt he could trust them. Not that he had much choice he thought ruefully. Natalie was gone and he was very concerned about her. He made his decision and picked up his phone.

"Hi Julie, this is Dr Hunt. I need Natalie Brent's personnel file as soon as possible. Please could you bring it to my offices immediately?" HE told the lady in the human resources department. He listened to the response and then said thank you before replacing the receiver. "She will deliver the file in a few minutes."

"Thank you doctor…now about Nate's condition…" Eliot said.

"When Mr Ford was brought in he had serious internal and other injuries. He had sustained a severe head trauma and had lost a large amount of blood. As I said I operated on him and was able to repair the damage and stabilise his condition. He did not however regain consciousness. I am afraid the attack on him by Kristoff worsened his condition. He was only just starting to recover from the initial trauma when the attack happened. He was clinically dead for three minutes before we were able to revive him." The doctor explained Nate's history. "He woke up two days ago but was very disorientated and had no recollection of what had happened or who he was."

"That would explain why he did not try to contact us…" Eliot said, he had wondered why Nate had not tried to get into contact with them, why he had allowed them, especially Sophie to think he was dead. Now he knew it was because first he was comatose and then when he did wake up he couldn't remember who he was. "So what is the bottom line doctor?"

"The bottom line is I am not sure what condition Mr Ford is in at this moment. When I examined him this morning he was doing much better, however he is still in serious condition. Being without medical treatment could be very detrimental to him." The doctor said, he did not have to elaborate, he could see by the look on Eliot's face that he understood that Nate could well die without proper treatment.

"Then we better find him, and fast." Eliot said quietly.

"Yes…Ah Julie…thank you." Dr Hunt said as the lady from HR with Natalie's files entered the room.

"It's my pleasure doctor…" Julie said handing him the file. "Is there something wrong…is Natalie alright?" She asked looking from the doctor to Eliot.

"Yes, yes Julie…everything is fine." Dr Hunt said as he ushered her out and closed the door.

"Find them Mr Spencer…" He said handing him the file.

"We will." Eliot said and by the tone of his voice the doctor had no doubt that this young man and his friends would do exactly that.

**I know I say it after every chapter but thank you so very much for the reviews. Please keep them coming, I appreciate every single one of them.**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Natalie Brent stood in the shadows of the hallway listening to her two colleagues talk. Her brow creased as she heard them discuss Sophie Ford and her husband David Jenkins. So, she thought to herself, now they knew that Sophie Ford was related to her patient. She knew what that meant; they would come and get him. The doctor was sure to tell her about the fact that David or Nate was still alive tomorrow during rounds. They were going to tell him about her relationship to him and then he would bring them down to the isolation room. They would come and take him from her. She was not going to allow that. Quietly she took the supplies she had come to fetch when she had stumbled on the two nurses during their conversation and made her way back down to Nate.

When she entered the room Nate was sitting up on the edge of the bed with his feet touching the floor.

"What are you doing?" Natalie said as she hurried to his side.

"I need to get to a phone." Nate said as he levered himself into a standing position, then swayed and almost fell forward onto the floor. Natalie caught him and eased him back onto the bed.

"What has brought this sudden need for a telephone about?" Natalie said trying to get him to lie down.

"I know who I am…" Nate said smiling at her.

"Really, and who are you?" Natalie said trying to hide the rising panic she felt. He was going to leave her. Why was this happening, why?

"Nathan Ford, my wife Sophie is seven months pregnant and I need to phone her, I need to tell her I am alright." Nate said. "I remember Natalie, I remember everything, why I was on that ship, everything."

"I see…" Natalie said trying to figure out a way to avoid this. She was not going to lose him. That woman up there did not deserve him. She had abandoned him, left him for dead and it was she, Natalie that had saved him. He belonged with her. She loved him; she would take care of him. He needed her. "Well just lie back and I will get you a phone. You are still very weak David…"

"Nate…" Nate said. "My name is Nate, not David."

"Of course…" Natalie said soothingly. "Please Nate, if you try to stand you are going to end up face down on the floor and neither one of us wants that do we?" She said.

"No…" Nate said hesitantly. "But I need to phone Sophie. My friends, my friends that were on the ship with me, I need to know they are alright."

"And you will…but I need you to stay in bed. You are still very weak Nate and you could hurt yourself…please…" She said. "Now mobiles do not work down here I am afraid but there is a phone at the nurses' station outside. I can call whoever you want me too and let them know where you are and that you are alright." She assured him as he finally allowed himself to lie back in the bed.

"Natalie, I need to speak to my wife…please." He told her.

"Ok…we can try to figure something out, but remember why you are here Nate, down here in the bowels of this hospital. Because somebody tried to kill you, do you remember that? Only a few days ago somebody tried to end your life. Now I know you want to speak to your wife and your friends, but have you considered that if you tell them where you are, if you come out from hiding, then the same people might try to kill you again and maybe hurt your wife and friends?" She asked him and smiled inwardly as she saw her words where having the desired effect on him.

"You're right…Markison, if Markison knew about Sophie…" Nate said shaking his head as he thought about the consequences of that happening.

"Right, so maybe the best policy is to remain where you are for now, and then we can figure out how to get a message to your wife and friends. They probably believe you to be dead anyway…" Natalie said watching him closely for his reaction to those words. "They are probably not even in the country anymore…"

"Oh God…you're right…Sophie…" Nate whispered. He had not even thought of that. It had been almost a month since he had left to help Eliot and the others. They probably thought he died in the explosion on the ship.

"Shhh…it's alright, everything will be alright…" She soothed taking his hand in hers. She could see her words had struck a chord with him and could see the emotions welling up in him. "We'll find a way to fix this, I promise…" She said.

Nate lay back in his bed. The effort of trying to stand had tired him out. Now his mind was overwhelmed with the thought of the danger he could pose to Sophie, if she came here looking for him, and Markison found her…He could not allow that to happen. He was almost sure that Eliot and the others had made it off the ship, but he did not know what happened after that. The explosion should have given them enough cover to get away, but he could not be sure about that either. What if they hadn't escaped from those docks…what if they were injured, or worse…dead. He closed his eyes tightly trying to remain calm as he thought about everything. He could have lost his family.

"Nate…it's going to be alright…" Natalie said softly as she ran her hand over his forehead. "I will take care of you. You and I will get through this and everything will be alright, you'll see." She said soothingly. "Just lie back now and rest, we'll figure this out…" She said.

Nate felt himself drifting, his mind becoming less focused as she spoke and he was drawn down into darkness.

"That's it, just rest Nate…just sleep…you are safe here with me…" She said as she replaced the syringe after administering the sedative through the IV. She stood like that with him until his breathing became even again and she was sure he was asleep. Then she leaned down and kissed him gently. "I'll take care of you." She whispered.

Natalie sat down on the side of the bed holding Nate's hand as he slept. She had to make a plan. Dr Hunt would be here in the morning before he did rounds. They had to be here for that. Then he would go on rounds. It would take him a while to reach her room, but she was sure that they would tell him who she was and that would be the end. He would definitely bring them down here; to him… they would come and take him away. They had no right she thought angrily. They had abandoned him, now they wanted him back, no, he was hers now and he would stay with her. She had to get him out of the hospital before they came for him. That gave her only a very small window of time after he had been to see Nate in the morning. The other problem was that Nate remembered. He remembered and he would tell the doctor. She had to prevent that from happening too. She had to keep him sedated until the doctor had left. She sighed heavily. It was for his own good she told herself. She was protecting him against not only the men who had tried to kill him, but from a family that obviously did not care about him. They had not looked for him, and only now, when it was convenient and the danger was passed did they want him back. Well they could not have him. She looked down at the sleeping man. He looked so peaceful now, so…handsome. She had never had anybody to love, anybody who needed her, who relied on her. She had always been alone and she had been happy with that lot. But when he had come into her life she knew he was the one for her. Her love for him had grown over the weeks she nursed him. She had felt a bond, a connection that could not be wrong. She could feel his love for her too, feel his need for her, he was dependant on her for everything, and she would always be there for him. He would forget those other people, that woman, and he would love her and only her, she was sure of that. She would become his family. They would love each other. She would have a family, she would give him a child, if that is what he wanted, one he could love and cherish…Yes she smiled to herself…she would have a family with Nate and they would be happy together. She moved herself onto the bed and lay down beside the sedated man resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes.

"We will leave here and find a home, a home where I can take care of you forever…you need me Nate, you will never be able to look after yourself again…you will always need me…you know you love me…" She whispered lifting herself up to kiss him gently again. Then she lay back down her hand running up and down his arm as her head rested on his chest. Lying there with him, she began formulating a plan for the morning. "Tomorrow my love, we will start our new life together…" She said as a plan came together in her mind.

**Please let me know what you thought…It seems Nate is in a lot of trouble. Will the Eliot be able to figure out what is going on and that it is Natalie herself that has Nate? How will they be able to find Nate and Natalie? What is Natalie's plan? What about Sophie, will she give birth without Nate being there? Thank you for your reviews and please keep them coming.**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Eliot returned to Sophie's room after his discussions with the doctor. He found Parker and Hardison there waiting for him. The tension was palpable and he could see the apprehension on all of their faces as he entered.

"What did he say?" Sophie asked as Eliot entered.

"That we need to find them as soon as possible, Nate is not…he needs medical attention." Eliot said deciding it was best not to try to hide anything from the Grifter, she would know anyway and that would cause her more stress.

"So where do we start looking?" Hardison asked.

"At this Natalie Brent's place first, as you can all see we have met her. She was the nurse that informed us that Nate was dead and then sent us on the wild goose chase to the morgue." Eliot said holding up the nurses picture.

"Why do you think she did that?" Maggie asked.

"That I don't know, we know she was the one that foiled the attack by Kristoff on Nate, so maybe she thought she was protecting him, I mean she had no positive proof we were who we said we were, maybe she thought we had come back to finish Nate off." Eliot said trying to figure it out in his own mind.

"Well…whatever the reason, it was wrong." Maggie said.

"Maybe…" Eliot said, if this nurse was just looking out for Nate then he was glad she had been, they had her to thank for the fact that he was still alive in the first place. Still he could not help but feel that something was wrong with the whole set up. "What did you two get from the room?"

"Nothing…I mean there was definitely no struggle, they went without a fight." Parker stated.

"Ok…so who could have taken them? I mean Markison is out of the picture, who else knew Nate was here, that he was still alive and being treated in the isolation rooms?" Maggie asked them the obvious question, one that had been bugging Eliot from the start.

"That is the million dollar question Maggie. I mean, the doctor said that he kept it from everybody, the only people in the know were himself and this nurse." Eliot replied.

"So we start with the nurse." Hardison said.

"That's right…" Eliot said handing Hardison the file the doctor had given him. "Check her out. I want to know everything about her."

"Right…" Hardison said retreating to his seat with this laptop.

"Parker, you and I are going to go and see what we can at her apartment."

"Let's go…" Parker said heading towards the door.

"Eliot…find him." Sophie said to the Hitter.

"We will…" Eliot said stepping to the side of the bed and taking Sophie's hand in his. "You just take care of yourself and that little boy. Nate will kill me when we get him back if anything happens to either one of you." Eliot replied squeezing her hand gently.

"Go…" Sophie said trying to disguise her emotions. With that Eliot turned and followed Parker out the door.

"What do you expect to find at this woman's house?" Parker asked him as they made their way to the car.

"I don't know Parker, but I have a bad feeling. I don't think this Natalie is quite as saintly as the good doctor makes her out to be." Eliot said. He knew he had nothing to base his feelings on. The woman had for all intents and purposes, saved Nate's life on more than one occasion. She had in fact put herself in danger to do so, as had she given up her time to stay with him and keep him hidden from his enemies. Still he could not fight the feeling he had, his instinct told him that Natalie had something to do with Nate's disappearance from the hospital, and he had learned that he should never ignore his instincts.

"But why would she want to steal Nate?" Parker asked confused.

"That I couldn't say Parker…" Eliot replied.

Arriving at Natalie's apartment Parker made short work of getting them in.

"She's got nothing here…nothing personal, no photo's nothing at all." Eliot said looking around the apartment. He was used to this with Parker, but a normal person did not live like this.

"Her clothes are gone…" Parker called out from her bedroom.

"Eliot…" Hardison's voice came through the coms.

"Yeah Hardison, what you got?"

"Girl lives alone. No family, her mother and father are dead, mother died six years ago, father passed earlier this year. Studied to be a nurse and worked at the hospital since graduating. She has no friends and no outside interests. I mean she does nothing at all, just work. No criminal record or any other kind of record." Hardison gave him the details he had found about Natalie Brent.

"So she's lonely." Eliot mused.

"Yeah…." Hardison said putting the same puzzle pieces together as the rest of them were.

"Well she ain't here, and her stuff is gone, no clothes, nothing personal at all left at the apartment." Eliot informed them.

"You think it's possible that she has taken Nate somewhere?" Maggie asked.

"I do." Eliot said. "I think she has taken Nate, she probably justifies it by telling herself that she is protecting him. I don't think she means him any harm though." He quickly added.

"You mean Nate escaped an explosion on a ship, survived major surgery, survived another attempt on his life only to be latched onto by some phsyco woman…Man is he not having a good time." Hardison said, earning him a glare from Sophie.

"How do we find them?" Sophie asked. If what Eliot was saying was true then how on earth were they going to find Natalie and Nate…where could she have taken him?

"Hardison…what else from her past…any land, any other homes, apartments…anything at all to indicate where she might have taken him. Did she inherit any place…I mean parents' house or so? It could not be far from the hospital. Nate is not in any condition to take any long trips." Eliot asked the Hacker.

"No man…I got nothing." Hardison said. "Nothing registered in her name, or her parents' name."

"Dammit Hardison you gotta give me something…" Eliot said.

"Hey…hey…man…"

"Eliot it's not Hardison's fault…if there was something to find he would have found it." Parker told the Hitter. She knew Eliot did not mean anything by it, but Hardison was feeling bad as it was and Eliot was not helping. "There must be another way to track them."

"Girl…I tried. There are no camera's at the clinic. No traffic cams…I can't trace their movements." Hardison told her.

"Well if the doctor is right and Nate's condition is that serious. And you are right Eliot, that this girl Natalie does not want to hurt Nate but help him, then she would have to have supplies, oxygen, morphine, whatever medication he is on…"

"Ok…yeah…I see where you are going girl, but that ain't the kind of stuff you buy at your local pharmacy…she would have had to take it from the hospital." Hardison said dashing Parker's hopes of tracking at least the general area they were in by tracking the purchase of drugs.

"So…back to square one..." Maggie said heavily.

"We might never find them…" Sophie said her voice low and soft and despair starting to rear its head again. She did not know how much more of this she could take. Tears once again welled in her eyes. She had lost Nate, found him again, lost him again and now she might never see him ever again. For him to be out there and her not to be able to be with him was worse than him being dead. She could not, would not accept that this Natalie woman had taken him from her forever.

"No we'll find them…I'll find them." Eliot stated. There was no way in hell he was not going to get Nate back. "Hardison…does she have a car?"

"Ah…no…no car registered in her name." Hardison replied after checking.

"So how did she transport him away from here? I mean he could definitely not walk, she's a nurse…she could order an ambulance…" Parker said looking enquiringly at Hardison.

"Checking ambulance transports…" Hardison said picking up on her train of thought and working away on his laptop. "One patient transport yesterday…and I have the address…" He said triumphantly.

"Let's go…" Eliot said leading the three of them out of the room watched by Maggie and Sophie.

**Thank you for your reviews. Please keep them coming…**


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"What's happening…?" Nate asked groggily.

"We are moving. It has become dangerous here, that man came back looking for you. He said he would come back again. Dr. Hunt and I have decided that it would be better if we get you out of the hospital and to a safer place." Natalie said as she continued to pack up the drugs and prepare for moving Nate to the apartment she had hired for the purpose.

"I need to call Sophie…" Nate said trying to sit up but failing miserably.

"We went over this Nate…you can't call her now, you would be putting her in danger to do so. Now I promise you I will let you call her when it is safe. You agreed that you would wait." Natalie said turning to him.

"No…no I need to call her, I need to know if Eliot and Parker and Hardison are safe…They can help, if Markison is still around Eliot can help." Nate said as he pushed himself up.

"Stop that…you are going to hurt yourself…" Natalie said raising her voice and storming over to the bed. "If you can't take care of yourself then I will have too…" She said picking up the syringe next to the bed and plunging it into the IV.

"No…no don't…don…" Nate started to say and then lost the battle against the sedatives that Natalie had given him.

"There now that's better. Now I have to get everything ready, the ambulance will be here in the next thirty minutes so you just rest and relax, and I'll make sure you are safe. It is all for the best Nate, you will see." Natalie said as she finalized her preparations.

An hour later Nate was neatly ensconced in the house that Natalie had arranged. It was a fully furnished country house and well suited to her purpose. She had rented it that morning and it had taken all of her savings to secure it for the next three months. She knew she would be safe here. She knew they would be looking for her so she had hired the house under an assumed name. They would never find her, and eventually they would give up looking. They would assume that Markison had come back and taken both her and Nate. They would give them both up for dead. She sat down on the bed next to Nate and smiled sweetly at him.

"Now we are home…Just you and me alone as it should be." She told him. "You have everything you need here I have made sure of that." She said. She had made sure that all the medical supplies she would need she had. "You are safe here with me, and I will keep you safe." She said kissing him softly her lips lingering on his. "Now I have some things to take care of. You just rest and sleep…I will be back in about an hour."

When Nate emerged from his drug-induced sleep, he found himself alone in a large room he did not recognize. Then he remembered that Natalie had taken him out of the hospital. He looked around the room. There was medical equipment stationed beside his bed, a heart monitor beat out a rhythm that he knew was his own heartbeat and he had an IV stuck in his arm. The curtains on the windows were heavy and Nate did not know if it was dark because it was night or if it was because the heavy curtains were blocking the sunlight from streaming in. His sense of time and space was hazy. He had no idea how long he had been asleep since leaving the hospital. Natalie had drugged him again leaving him clueless as to how much time had elapsed. He pushed himself up grimacing slightly as his muscles screamed out in resistance. Forcing himself upright, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. It was not a hospital bed, and Nate noticed that it was a double bed. He put his feet down on the floor and tied to push himself up off the bed. The effort was making him sweat profusely and pain swept through his body as he moved. He was however determined to get up and off the bed, he had to find a phone, he had to contact Sophie. Not in his wildest imagination did he think that Sophie would be here in this country. He was also sure that Eliot and the rest, if they had survived, had probably returned to the US. They probably thought him dead, killed in the explosion. He thought of Sophie and his unborn child and his heart ached. He closed his eyes and pictured her as he had last seen her, standing there watching him leave…he had promised her he would come back, he had promised her he would be there to see their son brought into this world. He was not sure he could keep that promise, but he was damn well going to try. If he could just let them know he was alive, they would come and get him.

He did not know where Natalie was but it appeared she had gone out. With a huge effort he pushed himself onto his feet and stood there swaying, trying desperately not to fall on his face. The tug of the IV reminded him that he was still tied to the bed. He reached over and pulled the needle out of his arm. He then removed the device attached to his finger and almost fell over as he reached out and shut off the machine that immediately started screaming out warnings. Nate stood still trying to maintain his equilibrium as he listening for any footsteps coming towards the room. He heard nothing. With an enormous effort, he made his way to the door and grabbed the handle. His gait was slow and laborious, his breathing now ragged and sweat poured from his forehead, matting his hair. Slowly he opened the door and peered out. The hall outside was quiet, as was the rest of the house. Sunlight streamed in through the front windows bathing the house with warmth and light. Moving out of the room he had been kept in, he slowly made his way along the hall using the wall to steady himself. He entered into the living area of the house and his eyes swept the room looking for a phone. He saw none. He needed to sit down. He was finding it difficult to breathe and his muscles ached with the effort he was making. He took a few steps away from the wall towards one of the chairs but then his legs gave out on him and he crashed to the floor, his head hitting one of the side tables and knocking him unconscious.

Natalie entered the house and called out to Nate that she was home. She carried the parcels into the kitchen and put them down then made her way to Nate's room to check on him. She had been gone longer than what she had thought she would be and Nate should be coming out from sedation. She wanted to be there when he woke up. Entering the room, she found the bed empty and her heart jumped. Where was he? She turned and rushed to the front of the house coming to a full stop as she saw his prone form on the floor. Blood stained the carpet near his head and he lay unmoving.

"Nate…" She cried out and ran to him dropping to her knees at his side. She turned him over so that he was lying on his back and then started to examine him. He had a pulse but it was weak and thready, his breathing was shallow and labored. Sweat soaked his hair and forehead. She checked the gash on his head, it was fairly deep and still oozing blood. "Now look what you have done to yourself. Oh Nate, that is going to need stitches and who knows what other damage you have caused…" She said cradling his head in her lap and admonishing him for his behavior. "I can't leave you alone for a minute can I…" She said her initial fear when she saw him lying prone on the floor starting to abate.

Natalie sighed heavily then gently placed his head on the floor and went to go and get the wheelchair she had brought with them. She loaded Nate's unconscious form into the chair and strapped him down. She had to get him back to the bed, actually, she knew she needed to get him back to the hospital but that was out of the question. She needed to know if he had caused any internal injury with the fall, she needed to know what kind of damage he had done when he hit his head on the table. His pulse was still weak and his breathing labored, he was not in a good way at all and she did not know if she could help him. For the first time since she had started this journey, she doubted herself. She loved this man and now, because she loved him so very much, she may very well be causing his death. She shuddered at that thought, then pushed it out of her mind. No, she thought shaking her head She would be able to help him, she did not need a doctor, he would be all right, she would make sure.

Natalie got Nate back to the room and with great effort back into the bed. She reconnected the heart monitor that immediately told her that Nate's pulse was weak, something she already knew. She connected another machine that told her his blood oxidation was very low. She frowned at that; that was not good. Immediately she connected the oxygen and put the mask over Nate's mouth and nose. Then she restored the IV. Then she set about cleaning and stitching the gash in his head. She looked down at him once she was finished. "You know I can't let you do that again don't you?" She told the unconscious man. She leaned down and touched her lips to his forehead, immediately feeling the heat from the fever he had developed. "Oh Nate…" She said tears stinging her eyes, "How could you risk your life…our life together…and for what…to try to contact them, forget about them Nate…you are home now, your home is with me." She said angrily. "If you can't behave yourself then I will have to make sure you cannot do yourself harm…" She as the fear for his life subsided into anger for his actions.

"Get away from him." A cold hard voice interrupted her tirade towards Nate. "Get away from him now."

Natalie looked up in surprise and a little fear at hearing the voice to see a young blonde woman standing on the other side of the bed.

"What are you doing in my house…?" Natalie said trying to remain calm. She recognized this woman; she was one of them that were in the hospital that day claiming to be family of Nate's. She slowly reached behind her and palming the scissors she had just used when she stitched Nate up.

"I said get away from him." Parker repeated.

"I would do what she says…" Hardison added as he moved to stand beside Parker.

"So would I because if you have done anything to Nate…well I would not want to be you right now." Eliot chimed in taking a stance at the foot of the bed effectively cutting off Natalie's path to the exit. "I would also just put those scissors down, we don't want to hurt you, we just want Nate." Eliot added.

Natalie looked at him then back at the other two. They were here to take her family from her. To take the man she loved. With the thought of losing Nate driving her she lunged at Eliot driving the scissors down towards him. Eliot moved effortlessly and grabbed her arm propelling her forward. Her momentum and the power of Eliot's pull sent her sailing passed him and slammed her into the wall. Eliot was immediately standing over her as she crumpled to the ground, but saw that she was out. He bent down and took the scissors out of her hand then turned back towards the others.

"Nate…" Parker said as she leaned over the Mastermind. Nate lay still. He was pale and sweat still coated his skin. His hair was matted with dried blood and sweat and his breathing was still very labored and shallow.

"Hardison, the van, get it to the front now." Eliot said sending Hardison running out of the room to the parked van outside. Then he moved to the bedside and looked down at his friend.

"He's going to be alright…" Parker said looking at Eliot. "Right…" She persisted when Eliot did not respond.

"I don't know." Eliot said softly. He did not want to remove the IV or the oxygen mask. Organizing it so that Parker carried the IV bag and the Oxygen tank, he lifted Nate effortlessly up into his arms and started out towards the door.

"What about her…?" Parker asked as they passed the unconscious Natalie.

"Leave her…we can deal with her later." Eliot said moving swiftly to the van that Hardison had just pulled in front of the front door.

"Maggie, tell them we are on our way, have the doctor waiting for us. Tell him Nate is unconscious and not doing so well. We have him on oxygen and he has a saline drip hanging." Eliot instructed the woman waiting back at the hospital with Sophie.

"Eliot…" Sophie said her voice soft and full of fear.

"He's alive Sophie…He's alive and we are on our way." Eliot told her as he and Parker loaded Nate into the van and closed the door. Hardison immediately set off at pace towards the hospital. Eliot looked over at Parker and told her to put her earbud into Nate's ear.

"Talk to him Sophie…" Eliot said softly, at least he could give her that to hold on to.

"Nate…" Sophie said trying to keep her voice calm and soothing. "Nate my darling, we are here, we are waiting for you, me and your son…I love you Nate…We all love you so very much" She said unable to keep the emotion from her voice and the tears from her eyes.

"Sophie…" Nate croaked out unexpectedly surprising both Eliot and Parker.

"Yes Nate…I'm here and you are coming home to your family…" She said smiling through her tears.

**Thank you all so very much for your reviews…I look forward to reading your comments on this chapter too.**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

They arrived at the hospital to be met by Dr. Hunt and a bevy of nurses. Sophie and Maggie were also there to meet them. Eliot lifted Nate out of the van and onto the gurney that was brought for him. Then he watched as Nate was wheeled away and into the emergency rooms. Sophie followed and although the nurse wanted to stop her at the door, she just pushed passed her.

Dr. Hunt looked up and was about to tell her that she had to wait outside when he decided against it.

"We need to work on him Mrs. Ford." He said simply. She nodded knowing that she had to leave the room, but not before she had seen him, touched him, she wanted to know he was real. "You can have a minute." He said nodding to the nurses to let her pass them.

Sophie walked up to Nate. Reaching out she took his hand in hers and placed it on her belly. "We can't lose you Nate, I can't go through that again, please come back to us, come back to me…I love you so very much Nate, please don't leave me now…" She whispered tears spilling from her eyes. She leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"Mrs. Ford…" The doctor said softly. "Please…"

"Yes…yes…please doctor, please…"

"We will do everything we can Mrs. Ford…" He said.

Sophie nodded and walked to the door turning around as she reached it. She watched for a few seconds as the doctor and the nurses got to work. Then she walked out the door and closed it behind her. Maggie was waiting outside the door and wrapped Sophie in her arms allowing the woman to lean on her and let her tears flow. They were tears of joy at finding Nate alive and fear of losing him again.

"Let's go back to the room Sophie…you need to lie down." Maggie said.

Sophie wanted to protest, to tell Maggie she had to stay here and wait, she had to be here close to Nate, but she knew Maggie was right. Her main priority now had to be her baby. She nodded and allowed Maggie to lead her back to her room. Maggie helped her onto the bed and back under the covers. Once she was settled bed Maggie brought a chair and placed it next to the bed. They were alone in the room; the other three had stayed in the waiting room to hear of Nate's progress.

"He is a strong man Sophie, strong and stubborn. He'll fight with everything he has to come back to you…you and your son." She told the Grifter.

"I know…but what if…what if he can't?" Sophie said the very act of giving voice to her fears causing her to sob uncontrollably. Seeing Nate so pale, so still, she could not go through losing him again. She could not bury him again.

"Sophie you listen to me. Nathan Ford loves you and I am sure that it is that love alone that has allowed him to stay alive through everything that has happened. Now don't you give up on him. You have to believe he will be alright, that he will come back to you and your son there…He knows you love him and he knows that you and David James Ford needs him…so you just believe he will be alright." Maggie said climbing onto the bed next to Sophie and gathering her in her arms. "You won't lose him Sophie…" She said holding the weeping woman close. She hoped to God that her words would not be proved false. She did not know if Sophie could survive losing him again.

An hour passed slowly with no word as to Nate's condition. Eliot, Parker and Hardison sat outside the emergency room Nate had been taken in to waiting for news. Time seemed to pass agonizingly slowly for each of them, their thoughts wondered, each of them going over the events that had led to this situation. They had all gone through so much in the last few weeks. Losing Nate had been hard on all of them. Believing that Nate was dead, telling Sophie of his death, the funeral, it had been the hardest thing any of them had had to face. Then the euphoria of finding out that Nate was in fact still alive, and now this. They had all experienced loss in their lives, they had all experienced sadness, but none of it compared to what they had felt when they realized Nate was gone, he had died saving them, he had given his life so that they could get away, at least that is what they had believed to be true. Eliot still blamed himself for calling the Mastermind in the first place. Parker blamed herself as it was her plan that had led them to this situation. Nate had trusted her to lead this team, to make the plans that would bring the bad guy down and keep his family safe. She had messed up and that had led directly to Nate lying in a hospital bed perhaps dying. All of them were berating themselves for giving Nate up as dead in the first place. Nate would not have done that they all knew that, he would not have rested until he had proof positive they were dead. They had left him here, alone, to fend for himself and look at where it had led. Hardison could not forgive himself for not finding Nate in this hospital after the explosions on the ship, he was the Hacker, he should have discovered that. If he had then none of this would have happened. They would not have had to go through the trauma of believing Nate dead, of having to put Sophie through believing that the man she had loved for so long, the man who was the father of her unborn child was gone. They knew that this was their fault, if it had not been for them, if they had not messed up on the job, Nate would be home safe with his wife happily expecting their first child. It was their fault that Nate lay fighting for his life, it was their fault and they knew it. Eventually the doors opened and Dr. Hunt came out dragging all of their thoughts away from their individual guilt and to the doctor.

"He's stable. His vital signs are weak but he is fighting. He has a fever from an infection he developed in his lungs, and that is concerning. I have him on oxygen and we will have to keep a close eye on that. If he develops pneumonia then there is a real risk of respiratory failure. The fever could also cause other complications if we cannot break it. He is still unconscious, however he is not in a coma, he should wake in the next few hours or so." The doctor said as they crowded round him. "I am not going to lie to you, his condition is critical and there is a possibility that he may not pull through. I have found though, that Mr. Ford has a very strong desire to live, he has already beaten the odds on more than one occasion and I would not be at all surprised if he does so again. Anyway, I have done what I can; now it is up to him." The doctor said.

"Then he will pull through." Hardison said with finality. He had no doubt, whatsoever, that Nate would fight with every fiber of his being to come back to Sophie.

"Yes well, you can tell Mrs. Ford she can see him once they have moved him to his room. I will send a nurse to take you to him and I will check in again with him later." The doctor said then looked at Eliot. "Natalie…?" He asked, none of them had said anything about his nurse who had disappeared with Nate.

"She was the one who took him out of the hospital." Eliot said flatly. The doctor's eyes widened at the statement and then he nodded.

"Where is she?" He asked. He did not question the statement Eliot had made. He had seen that Natalie had grown far too attached to his patient and had been worried about that himself. The fact that she had stolen him away from the hospital was a shock though; he did not think she would go that far.

"We left her where we found her…" Eliot said and then seeing the concern in the doctors' eyes added that they had left her unharmed.

"She is a good woman." The doctor said simply. "I would like to go to her, do you have the address."

"She is delusional and she stole Nate and…"

"Parker stop..." Eliot told the Thief. "Here is the address doctor. We are not going to press charges or take any further action. Whatever she did, she did save his life, and for that we are grateful." Eliot said surprising both Parker and Hardison.

"Thank you…" The Dr. Hunt said nodding his head slightly. "She needs help. I will make sure she gets it."

"Fine just don't bring her here…" Hardison said vehemently. Eliot may be able to forgive the good nurse but he was not sure he was ready to, and if Nate did not make it through this…well he was definitely not going to forgive her. "I don't ever want to see her again."

The doctor looked from Hardison to Parker and saw in their eyes that Natalie had better stay out of their way. He could not blame them he supposed. Eliot was right though, if it had not been for her dedication to Nate, he would probably have died at the hands of the man Markison had sent. Whatever Natalie had done, she had done it believing it was the best thing for Nate.

"I won't." He told the Hacker. "Thank you…" He said to Eliot and then left.

Eliot watched him go and hoped that he found Natalie and was able to get her the help she needed. He meant what he had said. Nate would most likely be dead if it had not been for her, so he was willing to forgive her for taking him out of the hospital. She was obviously delusional and needed psychiatric help, but that did not change the facts. They had her to thank for Nate being alive.

"Eliot…if he doesn't…" Parker asked softly brining him out of his reverie.

"Don't even think that Parker. Nate is going to pull through and that is all there is too it." Eliot said not even wanting to entertain any other thought.

"Right…" Parker said softly. "So let's go tell Sophie and Maggie." She said then turned and headed for the Grifter's room.

"Eliot…" Sophie said immediately sitting up in the bed as the Hitter, Hacker and Thief entered the room.

"He is stable. The doctor said that you can see him as soon as they have moved him to his room. The nurse will come and get us." Eliot told her. He left out the part where the doctor said Nate might not make it. Sophie was in a fragile enough state. She needed to believe he was going to be all right, and he was not going to tell her that he might not be.

Sophie was shown into the room by the nurse. They others had agreed to let her go in alone. They would see Nate afterwards. She approached the bed and looked down at the man lying in it. He was pale and sweat beaded his forehead despite the coldness of the room, proof of the fever he had. Sophie bent down and kissed him gently on the forehead as the lower half of his face was covered with an oxygen mask. She could feel the heat that was being radiated from him and her heart sank. She knew that fever was bad, and he had a fever that was for sure. His breathing was even but very low. His heartbeat was steady as witnessed by the monitor that stood by his bed, the rhythmical beat a comfort to her. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it tightly. If only he would show her that he was there with her. If only he would wake up. But Eliot had told her that the doctor said he would take a few hours maybe more for him to wake. She stood quietly with him for at least five minutes before the rest of the team and Maggie came into the room. Eliot immediately sourced a chair for her and she sat down next to Nate's bed, not relinquishing his hand for a second. Silence then filled the room again as they took up their positions waiting for the Mastermind to regain consciousness.

"Oh…ahhhh…" Sophie suddenly said breaking the silence.

"Sophie…" Maggie and Eliot were at her side in seconds.

"No…no please, I can't have this baby, I won't have this baby until Nate can be there…He promised he wouldn't let me go through this alone." Sophie said trying to hide the pain she was feeling.

"Sophie darling' it's time…" Eliot said quietly holding out his hand for her to take.

Sophie just looked at the Hitter. He was right, as much as she wished it was not happening now it was. She felt another contraction hit her they were coming fast.

"Sophie please, let them take care of Nate and you take care of your son…" Maggie said indicating to Parker to call a nurse. "Let's get you to the delivery room ok…"

Sophie nodded but pulled away from Maggie to lean over Nate.

"He's coming Nate and you promised…you promised…" She said to the unconscious man. She was scared. She was scared, she had never been so scared in her life.

The nurse stopped outside the room with a gurney. "Mrs. Ford…" She said walking up to her and touching her shoulder as she leaned over Nate. Sophie dropped her head and kissed Nate whispering to him that she needed him, that she was scared and she needed him. Then she let the nurse take her to the gurney and help her onto it. Maggie stayed by her side holding her hand telling her everything was going to be alright. Sophie bit her lip holding back a cry of pain as another contraction hit her.

"Nate please…" She whispered as the nurse pushed the gurney towards the delivery room.

**Sorry…another cliffhanger…Thanks again to everybody for reviewing. Hey at least I don't keep you all hanging for too long **** Please let me know what you thought of this chapter.**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

It had been four hours since Sophie had been taken into the delivery room but still the baby had not made its appearance. The doctors were not too concerned as fluid levels were good and the baby's heartbeat was strong. Sophie was still experiencing contractions but the baby was just not ready to arrive. Dr. Hunt was not present as he was out of the hospital when Sophie went into labor so Dr. Harper had taken charge. He had told her that the longer the baby stays in the better as she was only in her eighth month of pregnancy.

Nate had still not woken although his fever had finally broken, which was good news and was conveyed to Sophie through Parker who once in the delivery room did not want to leave again. She decided to stay with Sophie and leave Eliot and Hardison with Nate.

In the sixth hour Sophie's contractions got stronger and the baby was ready to come. Parker and Maggie stood beside her holding her hand as the doctor took his place for the delivery.

"Nate…" Sophie called out loudly as another contraction hit her. She had never felt such pain in her life.

"I'm here Sophie…" A weak voice spoke out and the figure of Nate being pushed in a wheelchair entered the room.

"Nate…" Sophie cried as she lifted her head to stare at him, trying to decide if he was an hallucination or not.

The nurse pushed him to her bedside as Parker made way for him smiling broadly as Sophie and Nate were reunited. Nate took Sophie's hand and raised it to his lips kissing her gently. Parker and Maggie decided that this was their cue and they left to join an anxious Eliot and Hardison in the waiting area.

"I promised…remember." He smiled at her.

"Yes you….ahhhhh…" Sophie cried out as another contraction hit her.

"It's time to push Mrs. Ford…" The doctor told her.

"Push Sophie…push, bring our son into the world…you can do it." Nate said squeezing her hand.

Sophie closed her eyes against the pain and cried out as she pushed for all she was worth.

"I see the head…" The doctor said after another strong push by Sophie. "Ok now one final big push Mrs. Ford…"

Sophie pushed again squeezing Nate's hand and screaming out in paid as she brought her and Nate's son completely into the world.

"That's it…" The doctor said as he received the baby. "Congratulations folks you have a healthy baby boy…" The doctor said handing the child to the nurse to weigh and measure before giving him to Sophie.

"You did it…" Nate said kissing Sophie's hand again. He wanted to stand up and give her a proper kiss but knew that he was not capable of doing that right now, and his collapsing would be no good to anybody. Sophie smiled at him happily. He was here just as he had promised and they had a baby. Suddenly she was overwhelmed by it all and tears of joy flooded flowed of her.

"Mrs. Ford…" The nurse said handing the child to his mother. Sophie cradled her newborn son in her arms and smiled down at the boy.

"Nate…" She said looking at him as he sat in the chair beside her. "We he's beautiful…" She smiled.

"Yes he is…" He said wanting to hold his son but not wanting to take this moment away from Sophie. "I love you Sophie Ford…and I love our son." He said smiling happily at her.

"Nurse…" Sophie called beckoning the nurse over. "Please, I think my husband would like to hold his son." The nurse smiled and nodded taking the child and carrying it around to Nate.

The look on Nate's face when he held his son in his arms is one Sophie would never forget. The love she saw in those blue eyes as they looked down at him and then back up to her was something she had never seen before. She knew Nate loved her, she never doubted that, but this was different. He radiated love at that moment.

"I love you David James Ford…you and your mother. I will always love you." Nate said bending down to place a soft feather light kiss on his son's forehead.

"Mr. Ford, we need to clean your son up and your wife too. Once we have her settled in her room you can join her there again." The nurse said interrupting the happy couple.

"Yes...yes of course." Nate said reluctantly giving up his son to the nurse. "I love you Sophie…more than you will ever know. I'll see you just now ok?" He said taking her hand in his again.

"I love you Nate…" She smiled back at him. Then the nurse who had brought Nate in wheeled him out of the room leaving Sophie alone.

"So…" Parker asked bouncing up to Nate as he emerged from the delivery room.

"A healthy baby boy…David James Ford." Nate smiled at them. "Mother and son are doing fine."

"Congratulations Nate…" Eliot said shaking his hand.

"Yeah man…" Hardison agreed patting Nate on the back.

"Congratulations Nate…" Maggie said kissing him lightly on the cheek.

"Maggie…I…Thank you." He said softly. He knew this was hard for her and he could see her happiness, but also the sadness that she was trying to hide for his sake.

"Now Mr. Ford I think we should get you back to your bed." The nurse said noticing that he had a slight sheen of sweat on his forehead. She had not been very amused when Nate had insisted that he be with his wife. He had just woken up, he was on oxygen and he was weak. She had found out however what a force he could be even in his weakened state and had ultimately agreed to taking him to the delivery room. But now it was time to get him back to his room.

"Yeah Nate man…Sophie is going to need you, so you better take care of yourself." Hardison said also looking closely at the Mastermind and seeing how weak and tired he looked.

Nate did not argue the matter. He was tired and overwhelmed with emotion. The nurse pushed him back into his room and with Eliot's help got him back into the bed. Then she proceeded to take his vital signs and make him comfortable. She insisted he replace his oxygen mask as his blood oxidation was low again. She informed him he had developed a slight fever again and that he had to take it easy.

"Your wife will be asleep for a while and your baby is in the nursery, please Mr. Ford, you need to rest." She told him.

"Don't worry nurse, we'll make sure he behaves." Eliot assured the nurse with a smile. She nodded her response and then after making some notes on the chart left.

Nate lay back in his bed and closed his eyes. He was a father again. It was something he had never thought he would be. When he had found out that Sophie was pregnant he was happy, ecstatic, but also full of fear and doubt. What if something happened to the baby, what if he was sick? He had had so many what ifs…" But he had decided then and there that he was not going to allow the ghost of Sam haunt this new gift that had been given to him. Now his son was here and he was the happiest man on earth. Come what may, he would never regret having this child, just as he had never regretted having Sam. His brow furrowed at that thought, then he banished the fear as he told himself this was not Sam, this was David James Ford and he would be a healthy happy boy. He drifted into sleep with the picture of his son in the arms of the woman he loved. His face was a picture of contentment and he was at peace for the first time since this all started.

"He's asleep." Eliot said as they stood around his bed.

"Can we see the baby…?" Parker asked enthusiastically.

"Yeah…let's go down to the nursery." Hardison said taking Parker by the arm. "Eliot you coming…?"

"In a minute." Eliot said smiling at the two of them.

"Ok…" Parker said pulling Hardison out of the door and towards the pediatric section of the hospital.

"You ok…" Eliot asked looking at Maggie who stood to the side in the corner of the room.

"Yes…" Maggie said sadly. "It's just…well…"

"I understand." Eliot said softly.

"I am so happy for him, for both of them."

"But…"

"But nothing...Just memories that's all." Maggie said wiping away a stray tear that had escaped her eye. "I think I need some air." Then she walked up to Nate's bed and put her hand gently on his forehead. "Congratulations Nate…you and Sophie deserve to be happy." She whispered then stood upright and walked to the door… "I'll see you all later." She said to Eliot taking her leave.

Eliot looked over at Nate and smiled. He did deserve to be happy, after everything he had gone through in his life, he deserved happiness, him and Sophie. They had been through a lot together, and it had taken them a long time to eventually admit their love for each other. He had not expected them to have a child, but he was very happy the day he was told they were expanding their odd little family. Now he swore to himself silently that he would protect that little boy with his life. This would never happen again, Nate and Sophie and David James came first in all things. Then Eliot left to go join Parker and Hardison, he also wanted to see the newest edition to his family.

**I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I really enjoyed writing it. Please let me know what you all thought.**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

"Which one is he?" Parker asked as she stood in front of the glass window separating them from the six infants in the nursery of the hospital.

"That one." Hardison said pointing at the baby wrapped in a blue blanked in the second row of cribs.

"Why do you say that one, because it's a boy?" Parker asked looking closely at the baby Hardison had pointed to.

"No Parker, because it say's Baby Ford on the crib." Hardison said smiling at her.

"Oh…yes it does…" Parker said looking at the board handing from the crib.

"Besides he looks like Nate don't you think?" Hardison asked.

"He looks like all the other babies." Parker said not seeing the resemblance.

"That's because you are not looking closely." Hardison told her.

"No Hardison it's because she doesn't have the imagination you do." Eliot said joining them at the window in time to hear their last exchange.

"Whatever man…I'm telling you he looks like Nate."

"He's beautiful…" Parker said softly. "So small…"

"Yes he is…" Eliot said staring at the baby.

The three of them stood there looking at their new brother. To each of them that is what he felt like.

"He changes the game…" Eliot said after a few minutes.

"He changes everything." Parker agreed.

"We can't ever do this again." Eliot said. "We can't involve them again. They have him now and he takes priority."

"You know that won't stop Nate from doing what he does…If we are in trouble he'll come and so would Sophie." Hardison said softly.

"So we don't mess up again. We make sure he doesn't have to come to the rescue." Parker said.

"That's right. Never again." Eliot agreed.

"He is beautiful…" Parker said again smiling.

"Handsome girl…he is really handsome." Hardison said pulling her into his arms and smiling broadly.

"So we going to eat something? Nate is out, Sophie is sleeping and baby over there is also sleeping."

"Yeah I could eat." Hardison said.

"I'm starving." Parker said. "When last did we eat anyway?"

"Can't remember, but it seems like a long time ago." Eliot said. "There's a Chinese place down the road..."

"Well what are we waiting for." Parker said grabbing Hardison's arm and steering him towards the door.

As they walked away a figure emerged from the shadows. She walked up to the window and stared in her eyes fixed on the crib of David James Ford.

"Hey little one…" She said softly as she put her hand against the window. "Your Daddy and me are so happy you have arrived. That is why he had to come back here. He had to come and get you. I understand now and I am not angry with him. In a few days little one, we will all be together, a family as we were meant to be. Your Daddy loves me, he needs me and I will be a good Mommy to you I promise. We will be happy." She whispered and then disappeared back into the shadows.

**So I am raining on the happy parade…Sorry for the short chapter. I will update again very soon. **


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Dr. Harper had decided that because he came quite a bit earlier than expected Baby David had to stay in the nursery for at least the first twenty four hours. Sophie had insisted on staying with Nate and eventually Eliot had convinced the doctors and nurses who were adamant that she also needed her rest, that the only way to do that was to move another bed into Nate's room. Eliot and the rest had stayed until both Nate and Sophie had fallen asleep then they and Maggie had left for the hotel.

Natalie Brent made her way into the pediatric ward dressed in her nurses uniform. She was not questioned on her presence as she had often volunteered for night duty in the nursery. Everybody at the hospital knew she loved children and had none of her own so she spent her free time in pediatrics.

"Hey Natalie, where have you been the last few days?" Patricia Lewis asked as she finished off with one of the newborn babies she was tending too.

"Dr. Hunt gave me some time off, I needed to take care of some personal things." Natalie replied walking up to Baby Fords crib and reading the chart attached to it.

"Lucky you…"

"Tell you what, why don't I take your shift tonight…I don't mind."

"Would you…oh that would be great. Michael is starting to complain he never sees me anymore…" Patricia said turning to her colleague.

"It would be my pleasure…" Natalie smiled. "Go, be with Michael…"

"Thanks Natalie…" Patricia said happily. Her husband was going to be so happy to have her home, she had been working night shift for the last month and he had been complaining that they never saw each other anymore.

"Go…I'll be fine." Natalie said. "It's late already and if you don't leave now you might as well stay..."

Patricia looked at her watch. It was half past ten and it would take her at least twenty minutes to get home. "Thanks again Natalie…I owe you one." Patricia said grabbing her coat and waving at Natalie as she left.

Natalie smiled sweetly and watched her leave. Then she went straight to David's crib reaching in and lifting the sleeping baby out and into her arms. "Hey little one…" She said rocking the baby gently. "You are so beautiful…I'm going to take such good care of you. You and your Daddy…we are going to be so happy." She whispered kissing the child on the forehead lightly.

Then she put the child down and made a tour of the rest of the cribs. All the babies were sleeping soundly. She knew once she was gone it would only be a matter of an hour or maybe less, depending on the babies, to get as far away from the hospital as possible. She already had a plan and an escape route. She knew she would be long gone before the alarm was raised. Once she had made another tour of the nursery and made sure all the other babies were quiet she moved back to David's crib.

"Ok little one, it's time to go." She said lifting the infant into her arms. Carrying him to the night duty station she opened the bag she had brought specially for this occasion. Inside she had a blanket, which she wrapped David in and then placed him inside. He fit perfectly into the space provided for him. Then she folded the additional blankets around him effectively securing him so that he would not move as the bag was carried. David remained asleep throughout. "You are such a good boy." Natalie cooed leaning down and kissing the child again before she zipped the bag closed and walked out of the hospital. She was not stopped on her way out. She got to the car and placed the bag on the passenger seat, unzipping it to check on her charge. David was still sleeping. She made her way round the car and got into the driver's seat then set off to the hotel room she had already secured for herself.

Matron Kathy Parkinson walked into the pediatric ward thirty minutes after Natalie had left with Nate and Sophie's son. The ward was quiet, all the babies sleeping contently in their cribs. Kathy liked to visit the nursery during her shift, and besides Patricia was on duty and she felt like some company. She noticed that Patricia was not at the duty station and she was not in the nursery. She decided that the woman was probably in the kitchen getting herself some coffee. She made her way into the little kitchen but found she was not there either.

"Patricia…" She called out softly as she went back to the nursery duty station. She did not want to raise her voice to loudly in fear of waking the sleeping infants. When she got no reply she frowned wondering where the nurse was. _"Probably gone to the ladies room…"_ She told herself. Kathy decided she would go and make herself a cup of coffee and one for Patricia. She made her way back to the kitchen and put the kettle on. Five minutes later she was back at the desk to find that there was still no sign of Patricia.

Kathy sat down at the desk and dialed Patricia's number on the duty phone. It was unacceptable for the nurse to leave her duty station for an extended period of time, especially on night duty as she was the only one working in the nursery. The phone rang a few times before the sleepy voice of Patricia Lewes answered.

"Just where are you Patricia?" Kathy immediately asked.

"Kathy…" Patricia said sitting up in her bed. "What's wrong?" She asked hearing the annoyance in the tone of the Matron's voice.

"What's wrong?" Kathy repeated. She was quite angry now. "What's wrong is I am here at the nursery and you are nowhere to be found. These babies have been left unattended for who knows how long. Where are you and why aren't you here?" She said.

"I…" Patricia said trying to understand through her sleep befuddled mind what Kathy was on about. "Natalie said she would finish my shift." She replied. It was not her fault if Natalie had deserted her station for whatever reason.

"Well she is not here…" Kathy said. "You know better than to just change out with somebody without first getting permission."

"I…I'm sorry ok…"

"Fine, we will speak about this tomorrow." Kathy told her. She was a little angry that Patricia had just decided it was all right to change shifts as it was not hospital policy for her to do that. But, it was not like they had not done it before, and Natalie Brent as a good nurse.

"I'm sorry Matron. I really thought there would not be a problem." Patricia apologized again.

Kathy sighed and then told her it was all right and she would see her when she came on shift in the morning. She hung up the phone and dialed Natalie Brent's mobile. She got no answer but left a message on the voicemail. Kathy looked around the nursery after putting the phone down and then sat back in the chair. Natalie was going to be in a lot of trouble when she saw her she thought to herself. Then she stood up and started a tour of the nursery to check on all of the babies. After checking on three of them she got to the crib of Baby Ford. Kathy stood staring down into the crib, her heart rate speeding up as realization sank in. The crib was empty. Where was the infant, had Natalie taken him somewhere, and if so where. Was there a medical emergency with him, had he been moved to NICU? Quickly she made her way back to the duty station and dialed the number for the NICU.

"NICU Nurse Jones…" a voice answered.

"Mary, this is Kathy, I am in the nursery and one of the babies is not here, did Natalie perhaps bring him into NICU for any reason?"

"No…" Mary Ellis asked frowning slightly. "What do you mean the baby is not there?"

"I mean the crib is empty and there is no sign of Natalie either."

"Natalie, I thought Patricia was on duty tonight."

"She was but Natalie took over her shift. You sure she did not bring him in there?"

"No, I haven't seen Natalie in almost a week now, I thought she was on vacation." Mary Ellis confirmed.

"Ok…" Kathy said putting the phone down and immediately dialing the number of Dr. Harper the infants attending physician.

"Dr. Harper." He answered after the third ring.

"Dr. Harper it's Matron Parkinson here." Kathy said. "I was wondering doctor if you had Baby David James Ford moved out of the nursery for any reason."

"No…What's this about Matron." Dr. Harper said sitting up in his bed and running a hand over his face. It was after midnight and he had just got home from his shift.

"He's not in the nursery doctor."

"Well…perhaps his mother took him to be in her room with her?" He said. He could think of no other reason for the child not to be in the nursery. He had told them that he should stay in the nursery but knowing the two people he was dealing with he would not have been surprised if they had ignored his instructions and asked for the baby to be put with them in the room. Perhaps the instructions were just not noted in the nursery records.

"Ok, I will go and have a look in her room to see if the child is there." Kathy said relieved that there appeared to be an explanation for the missing infant.

"Very well...Good night Matron." Dr. Harper said. He was sure that the Matron would find the child there and everything would be sorted out.

Kathy first called one of the other nurses from the NICU to come and keep an eye in the nursery and then headed to the mothers room. The nurse on duty there told her that Mrs. Ford had insisted on having her bed moved into her husband's room. She said she could not remember a crib being placed in the room but she had not had cause to go into the room since earlier in the evening. Entering Nate's room she found both him and Sophie sound asleep. She circled the bed to Sophie's side of the room but found no crib. Where was the child? Kathy was now quite concerned and even a little frightened. She had no idea where the baby could be. Could somebody have taken him out of the hospital? Her heart almost stopped at that thought. Quickly she went back down to the nursery. Perhaps he had just been moved to a different crib. She checked all the cribs but Baby Ford was definitely missing. She picked up the phone and dialed Dr. Harpers number again.

"Doctor he is not here!" She said immediately on his answering. The panic was evident in her voice and the doctor was immediately wide awake.

"That is not possible Matron. Where is the child then?" He asked her. A baby did not just disappear.

"I…I don't know doctor, he is not here and I don't know what to do." Kathy said almost in tears now. Nothing like this had ever happened before and she did not know how to handle it.

"Call security tell them to search the hospital and send one of them over to the nurses house, do it now Matron. I will be there in about half an hour." Dr. Harper instructed her. "Matron, keep this quiet and do not make his parents worry unnecessarily, I am sure there is a reasonable explanation for this. Let's see if we can get a handle on this before we start panicking alright. I am sure there is an explanation." He said. He did not want a scene if he could help it. Who would want to come into a hospital and steal a newborn baby, and how could they do it without being seen. No there had to be another explanation. Besides which, if the child had been taken, then he the Matron and the hospital itself were in a lot of trouble.

"Ok doctor…" Kathy said. She put the phone down and immediately paged the head of hospital security. After that she again toured the cribs making sure each and every child was there. They were, all except one. Baby Ford.

It had been an hour since the Matron had discovered the missing child. Hospital security were now scouring the hospital for any trace of the child or the nurse who had been on duty. Dr. Harper had insisted that they do that first before waking the parents. Kathy had explained to the doctor who was on duty and why. He had then dispatched the head of security to Natalie's flat, which was not far from the hospital to go and see if she was there.

"We have to call the police and we have to tell his parents." Kathy said as the last of the security reported in that there was no sign of the infant or the nurse. "Jasper also called back that Natalie is not at her flat." Kathy told him.

"You are right… Call the police, tell them to get somebody here as soon as possible." Dr. Harper said softly. He had no idea how long the child had been gone, but it was at least two hours now. He had told people that their loved ones were dead, were never coming back, but the thought of having to tell new parents that their baby was gone, stolen, missing…that was something he did not know how to do.

A few minutes later Dr. Harper and the deputy head of security entered Nate's hospital room. He made his way to Nate's beside and gently shook the man.

"Mr. Ford…" He called out softly. Nate stirred at his name then opened his eyes slowly.

"Dr. Harper…" Nate said focusing on the man beside his bed. The look on the doctor face made Nate's heart clench. Something was wrong…

"Sophie…" He said loudly turning to see if his wife was still in the bed beside him. She was and she had also now woken up and was looking slightly confused by the sudden bustle in the room.

"Nate…what's going on?" She asked immediately seeing Nate sit up in the bed with an effort and the doctor looking at both of them with an expression that said something was terribly wrong.

"David…" Nate whispered.

"Mr. and Mrs. Ford…"

"Is something wrong with my baby…?" Sophie asked getting out of the bed and moving swiftly around it to stand beside Nate facing the doctor.

"Mrs. Ford…"

"What is wrong with my baby?" Sophie said again not giving the doctor a chance to speak.

"I am afraid that your son…"

"Oh God no…" Sophie cried out, she was expecting the doctor to tell her that David was dead, by the look on his face and the fact that he was here at this hour of the morning…She almost collapsed at the thought but Nate pulled her in to him and held on to her tightly. He did not speak, the very thought of David being dead was too much for him to comprehend.

"Your baby is missing." Dr. Harper blurted out.

"What…" Sophie and Nate said simultaneously.

"What do you mean 'missing'" Nate asked.

"He is no longer in the nursery; we do not know where he is." Dr. Harper said.

"What the hell do you mean…?When did this happen?" Nate said again this time his voice conveyed confusion and fear and anger all rolled into one.

"It appears that your son along with one of our nurses has disappeared sir."

"Disappeared…what the hell are you talking about? Where is my son? How long ago did this happen?" Nate said his voice rising as his fear grew. David had been kidnapped. But by who, why…Surely it could not be one of Markison's men…please don't let that be the case he thought fear gripping him at the thought.

"We don't know Mr. Ford." Dr. Harper said again. "Matron Kathy Parkinson discovered he was missing along with Natalie Brent, the nurse on duty in the nursery. It has been just over an hour since the Matron found your son's crib empty."

"An hour…" Nate shouted at the doctor, she could be anywhere by now.

"Mr. Ford, we were sure that Natalie had merely taken your son for walk to sooth him…we had no idea that he was no longer in the hospital." Dr. Harper tried to placate the man.

"You waited an hour to get a search started, and God only knows how long before that she could have taken him out of the hospital..." Nate said. At the mention of Natalie's name he knew she had taken his son. The only good thing about that was that Nate was sure the woman would not harm David. Then he threw a withering look at the doctor as he realized what he had said…the nurse on duty… "What was she doing back in this hospital, after what she did to me…" He said is voice now low and deadly.

"What she did to you…" Dr. Harper repeated confused by Nate's words. "I don't understand."

"Where is Dr. Hunt?" Nate asked.

"I am not sure, he did not report for duty this evening, I took his shift." Dr. Harper replied not sure what Dr. Hunt had to do with any of this. "Look Mr. Ford we have called the police and they will be here shortly. We will do everything in our power to find your child and return him safely to you." He said.

Nate looked at the doctor with disgust and then turned to Sophie.

"Call Eliot…Tell him to text me with the address of the house she was keeping me in, tell him to get there as soon as possible. Tell him to bring Parker and to get Hardison and Maggie here to stay with you." He told her as he pulled the IV out of his arm. "Tell Hardison to track Dr. Hunt's phone, she might be using that." Nate continued as he stood and made his way into the bathroom to change clothes.

"I'm going with you." Sophie said as she followed him to the bathroom. She was ready to counter anything Nate may say to dissuade her from going.

"Sophie…you need to stay here. You need to tell the police everything we know. You need to tell them where we have gone. Sophie…I need you to stay here." He said to her softening his voice as he turned towards her and pulled her into his arms.

"He's my son too Nate." Sophie said loudly pushing him away.

"I know that Sophie…" Nate almost shouted. Then he took a deep breath. "Sophie please…somebody has to stay here. Besides if she sees you who knows what she will do…" He immediately saw the fear on her face at his words. "It's me she wants…" He whispered softly. "She won't hurt him, not as long as she thinks we are going to be one happy family." Nate said. As soon as he had heard Natalie's name he knew what this was about, knew that it was him she was after, and now his son as well. The woman was delusional. She believed that he and she were going to play happy families, and now she had included his son in her sick little fantasy. Silently he cursed the fact that Eliot had not put an end to her when they had found him…

"Go…go and get our son." Sophie said softly tears spilling from her eyes.

"I do not think it is a good idea for either of you to go anywhere." The doctor interrupted, he was not sure what was happening but he was sure it was not good. "Mr. Ford, you are in no condition to be out of bed, and Mrs. Ford, you have just given birth you could do yourself some serious harm if you do not get back into bed. As I said the police will be here shortly and our security people are double checking the hospital."

"You…" Nate said to the security man completely ignoring the doctor. "I am going to need a car and I am going to need one right now."

"I have a car outside sir." Jose Buckner said. "I will drive you to wherever it is you need to go sir." He said. He could see that Nate was not acting out of sheer panic and that he obviously had an idea of where to look for his son.

"Good…Doctor I want Dr. Hunt's number and Natalie Brent's number, we are also going to need Dr. Hunt's home address." Nate said as he put his shoes on and turned to Sophie who had just finished on the phone with Eliot. "Sophie…I'll bring him back, I swear to God." He said kissing her gently.

"Mr. Ford…"

"Just give my wife the details I asked you for doctor and do it now…because if my child is harmed in any way I will hold you and this hospital responsible…do you understand?" Nate said in a voice so cold that it sent shivers down the doctors back. He nodded in agreement then watched as Nate walked out with his deputy head of security in tow.

**Thanks for the reviews. Please keep them coming.**


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"Where are we going…?" Jose asked him as they climbed into his car.

"Head south out of town." Nate said as he read the directions that Eliot had sent him. He was not sure what he was going to find at the house but he doubted it would be Natalie. Eliot had told him that the doctor was going to see her, to try to help her and this was the only starting point they had.

"We are on our way Nate…" Eliot said through the coms. "Just be careful will you."

"You don't look so good Mr. Ford." Jose said casting his eyes at Nate.

"I'm fine…just drive." Nate replied. He did not respond to Eliot.

It took them almost an hour to get to the house. I appeared deserted with no vehicles parked outside and no lights on.

"Wait here." Nate instructed Jose as he climbed out of the car and headed towards the house.

Jose watched him go and then decided that for him to let Nate go in alone was a bad idea. Looking at the man he appeared as if he was going to collapse at any time. He was sweating and his breathing was heavy, as if he had just run a marathon. He was not sure what was wrong with him, or why he had been in the hospital but the doctor was definitely right, Nate should not be out of bed. He followed him into the house which was dark and quiet.

"What are we looking for?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"I told you to stay in the car." Nate hissed back.

"Yeah…I was never very good at taking orders…that's why I'm a security guard and not a police officer." Jose said sardonically.

Nate ignored him and moved silently through the house. He could see there had been some sort struggle, a table was lying on its side and blood stained the carpet near to it. He realized that it was the table he had hit his head on when he had tried to escape from Natalie before. Going through to the bedroom she had held him in he saw another man in his place. He was bound and gagged and handcuffed to the bedpost.

"Help me…" Nate said moving to the man's side. He checked for a pulse and found one. It was strong and he was breathing normally.

"What's wrong with him?" Jose asked helping Nate untie him.

"Don't know…I think he may just be sedated." Nate said as he removed the gag from the man's mouth.

"It's Dr. Hunt." Jose said as they finished releasing him from his bonds.

"Yeah…but she's not here." Nate said sitting down on the edge of the bed and taking deep breaths. He was a little dizzy and he was nauseous. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his face.

"You sure you OK man?" Jose asked moving to his side.

"No he's not but you ain't going to stop him from doing what he's doing it by telling him he's not." Eliot's voice carried through the room.

"She's not here." Nate said without even looking up at his Hitter.

"Yeah…I gathered." Eliot said moving to Nate's side and sinking to his haunches.

"Nate…"

"I'm fine Eliot…" Nate growled.

"Ok…so any ideas where to now?" Eliot asked. He was not going to argue with Nate, not now. His son was gone, taken by a madwoman.

"Hardison did you get anything from Hunt's phone." Nate asked the Hacker then looked at Eliot. "We are going to Hunt's apartment…Hardison we'll need that address."

Eliot nodded then looked at Jose and held out his hand.

"Eliot…" He introduced himself.

"Jose…"

"Thank you for your help." Eliot said gratefully.

"It's a kid…nobody has the right to mess with somebody's kid." Jose said simply. "If you two …"

"Three…" Parker said as she bounced into the room.

"Jose…Parker…" Eliot introduced.

"Hey…" Parker said.

"If the three of you don't mind I'd like to tag along, I'd like to see this through to the end." Jose said smiling at the blonde woman.

"Ok…well Jose, thank you for your help and I really appreciate it that you want to follow through." Nate said standing up slightly unsteadily, although each of them ignored it studiously. "I need you to stay here with Dr. Hunt and make sure he gets back to the hospital. He has some information we might need."

Jose looked at the Mastermind and then smiled slightly. "I can do that." He said.

"Thanks. Eliot let's go." Nate said walking out the door followed by Parker.

"Hey Eliot…he's not going to last much longer." Jose said to the Hitter as he was about to follow the other two out.

"You don't know Nate…" Eliot said softly. Nate would keep going until he had his son back or he was dead. Eliot planned to ensure the latter came first.

"You think she might be at Hunt's house?" Eliot asked as they all climbed into the car.

"She might, it's a place to look." Nate said tiredly.

"Ok…" Eliot said. "We'll get him back Nate." He said softly.

"Yes we will Eliot." Nate replied. Then he sat back in the seat and closed his eyes.

"How do we do this?" Eliot asked as he pulled op outside the apartment.

"I go in." Nate said as he climbed out of the car laboriously.

"Alone?" Eliot asked knowing the answer and not liking it.

"Alone…" Nate confirmed then looked at both Eliot and Parker who were showing their displeasure at his statement. "Look guys…this woman is obsessed with me…I don't know why, but she is. Now she has my son and wants to play happy families…if we all go in there things could get volatile…rather me alone."

"Things could get volatile anyway." Parker said darkly. Who knew what this crazy woman was capable of doing.

"Yes they could Parker and that is why you are both here. If things do, I will distract her and you get my son." Nate said looking at his Thief. "No matter what happens you get my son."

"We'll get him out." Parker said softly.

"Ok…" Nate said taking a deep breath. "Let's go."

Eliot watched as he walked to the doors of the building. His gait was slow, he was having difficulty breathing normally and he was sweating profusely from the physical effort. Of course the emotional toll it was taking was also adding to the mix. They got to the front door of the apartment and Nate knocked on the door.

"Natalie…it's me Nate…" He called out. After a few minutes and another knocking session, there was still no response. Nate stepped back and nodded to Parker who had the door open quicker than somebody with a key would have.

"She's not here." Eliot said after sweeping the apartment with Parker.

"Where the hell is she…?" Nate hissed. He almost fell onto the sofa and rested his head in his hands. He did not know what to do next. Where did he look for her?

"Nate I found her…" Hardison's voice came over the coms.

"Hardison where…?" Nate asked jerking himself upright.

"A woman checked herself into a room there yesterday morning." Hardison said. "The kicker is she checked herself in as on Mrs. Natalie Ford."

"Address Hardison…"

"Sending it to your phone."

"Thank you Alec…" Nate said gratefully. Trust his Hacker to get him what he needed.

"Why do you think she did that…I mean use your name like that, surely she would know we could find her then?" Parker said trying to figure out why the woman would do that.

"She wants me to find her." Nate replied. She wanted him and his son both. She wanted a happy family. She knew he would come looking for her, his only question was what she was planning to do once he did find her. Was she expecting him to come alone?

"But she must know you won't come looking for her alone…right?" Parker asked thinking along the same lines as he was.

"The woman is insane Parker…who knows what she was thinking." Eliot said.

"No, Parker's right, I was wondering the same thing myself." Nate said trying to think like Natalie would. What would her plan be? She may be insane, but one thing she had proven was that she was resourceful and clever. She must have a plan.

"Well we are about to find out…" Eliot said pulling up into the parking area of the hotel.

"You two stay outside. If I need you I'll let you know." He told them.

"Be careful Nate this woman is nuts…" Eliot replied concern in his voice. Concern for both Nate and his son.

Nate nodded and then went into the Hotel's reception. He walked up to the desk and smiled at the clerk.

"Hi…I am meeting my wife here…she is booked in with our son. Natalie Ford…"

"Your wife…" The clerk looked at him dubiously and then looked down at his booking screen. "Ah yes…Mr. Ford, Mrs. Ford said she was expecting you." He smiled at Nate. "Room 201 sir."

"Thank you." Nate said. He made it to the room in a matter of minutes and knocked softly on the door.

"Natalie…"

"Nate…" He heard her call from behind the door. A few seconds later and the door swung open to reveal Natalie Brent standing before him. She smiled at him and then threw her arms around him. "I knew you would come, I knew you would find me." She said pulling him into the room and closing the door.

"Yes…I had to come." Nate said honestly. As he spoke, he cast his eyes around the room looking for his son. Natalie observed him closely and then smiled at him again.

"OH…David isn't here silly." Natalie said as she led him to the sofa. "I thought we needed some time to sort things through." Natalie continued sitting him down and then taking her place beside him. "You look so tired Nate…what have they done to you?" She asked placing her hand on his cheek gently.

"David's not there! I'm going to kill her where is my son?" Sophie's angry anxious voice came over the com. Nate winced slightly and then tried to ignore her voice.

"Sophie…" Eliot said softly. Nate did not need her angst added to his own right now.

"David's not here?" Nate asked

"No, he's with his nanny…" Natalie said then looked at Nate and saw the worried expression. "Don't worry she'll take good care of him." She said leaning in to kiss him. "Just like I will take care of you my darling..." She whispered in as she kissed his cheek.

It took all of Nate's willpower not to pull away from her. He allowed her to kiss him gently on the lips but did not respond. Then she sat back and looked at him before smiling sweetly at him.

"Oh Nate, I have missed you so much my darling." She said cuddling into him. "I know why you had to go back, you were going back for your son, because that woman had your son. I forgive you my darling…" She said running her hand up his chest.

"I missed you too. I want to be a family, you and me and David." Nate said. He had to play along with her, he had to get her to take him to his son.

"You mean that?" Natalie said sitting up and looking at him intently.

"Of course I mean it Natalie. I would be dead if it wasn't for you. I never wanted to leave you but…"

"But you could not leave your son." She finished for him. "I don't blame you for leaving me Nate, and I don't blame you for sending Dr. Hunt to get me either. You were only looking out for me after what that oaf of a man did to me." She said bringing her hand up to her face and touching the slight bruise that still remained, a reminder of her collision with the wall. "But I am fine." She said leaning into him again. "You on the other hand are not." She said sitting up again and placing her hand on his forehead. "You have a fever Nate…and you look so pale. Oh my darling even now they cannot look after you."

"I'm fine…" Nate said.

"No you are not Nate. You are sick, you need to be cared for, don't you understand you need me to care for you and I want to…I want to look after you and our son."

Nate heard Sophie's sharp intake of breath as Natalie called David her son. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply.

"You need to rest my love. Come to the bedroom." She said pulling his hand to help him up and then embracing him again as he stood shakily before her.

"Natalie I'm fine really I just want…I need to see my son."

"I know…I know… and you will, but right now you need to rest. It is all arranged, tomorrow we go home." She said pulling him towards the bedroom. Nate went with her. He could not push too hard, if he did she would start to question why and then he may never get her to take him to David.

"Home…?" He asked questioningly.

"Yes my love. To our home, don't worry darling, they will never find us there."

"They…?" Nate said allowing her to push him onto the bed and lay him back.

"Yes…those horrible people at the hospital, the ones who call themselves your family. Can you believe that, the nerve of them?" She said shaking her head as she removed his shoes. "I mean they leave you here all alone and hurt, they don't even bother to try and find you. Then somebody tried to kill you and still they don't come looking for you. They only come after all the danger has passed…what kind of family is that tell me Nate?"

Nate did not respond, he did not know what to say.

"I am the one who looked after you. I cared for you and I am the one who stopped that awful Kristoff from killing you. I am your family Nate. Me and David..." She said as she moved onto the bed and lay beside him her head on his chest. "I love you…she can't love you, not the way I do. She left you, her and those other four people; they left you to die all alone. I would never do that Nate, I would die for you." She said leaning up to kiss him softly.

"I am going to kill her." Parker said softly and without any anger. It was a statement of fact as far as she was concerned.

"Rest now Nate, sleep. Tomorrow we will go home and I have all the medical equipment and medication I will need to make you better. Just rest now." She said as she rested her head on his chest and ran her hand up and down gently.

"Nate…you are going to have to stay there tonight." Eliot said. "You can't push her..."

"You want him to spend the night with…with…"

"Sophie…"

"I know, I'm sorry I just…I'm sorry." She said softly.

"What's happening with the police?" Eliot asked as the coms went silent. He did not want the police butting in here, if they did there was a good chance that they may never find David, and Natalie was capable of doing anything, even killing Nate and herself if she thought that was the only way for them to be together. She was certifiable and therefore unpredictable and dangerous.

"They are questioning Dr. Hunt now." Hardison informed him.

"Good. He won't be able to point them in the right direction. Hardison you need to keep them busy."

"Eliot…how is he?" Sophie asked her voice quiet and plaintive.

"He's…he's ok Sophie. He'll be fine. Once we get David back and he's back with you, he'll be just fine." Eliot tried to ease her fear. This was harder on Sophie than any of them. Not only was she worrying about her child who was in the hands of a lunatic, she was worried about the man she loved more than anything too.

Nate lay and listened to the conversations. He heard Sophie's voice and closed his eyes tightly picturing her lying in her bed and holding their son in her arms.

"I love you…" He whispered softly. He could feel Natalie's smile as he said it and felt her wrap her arm around him tightly, but more importantly he heard the only words that he wanted to from the person his whispered confession was meant for.

"I love you too Nate, so very much…Everything will be alright, tomorrow you will go and get our son and then we will all go home, as far away from here as possible. I love you Nate don't ever forget that, no matter what happens I will always love you." Sophie said softly. She knew they could all hear her but it didn't matter, she need to tell him that she loved him, she needed him to hear it.

It was early afternoon now and he lay staring up at the ceiling with Natalie spouting about how their life was going to be, how they would love each other etc… He tuned out and drifted into sleep. He was so very tired, exhausted. He would need all his strength tomorrow, because not matter what happened, he was getting his son back.

It was dark outside when Natalie woke him.

"You need to eat Nate. You are weak and you need to eat." She said as she placed the tray table on the bed. "Don't argue with me now." Natalie said as Nate tried to object.

"I'm not hungry." Nate said still groggy from sleep and feeling the effects of the day's exertions.

"I know, but you need to eat." She said adamantly.

"Ok…"

"That's it…I know what's best for you Nate." She said softly watching him eat his soup. "Once you have finished eating you need to go take a shower. Then we can go to sleep." She said her voice like that of a mother who was telling her child what she wanted him to do.

Nate merely nodded. He did not argue he simply did as he was told to, he had to play along. He had to make her comfortable and trusting of him. That was the only way to get his son back. Once he had finished dinner and had dressed in the boxer shorts and t-shirt she had laid out for him he climbed back into the bed.

"There now see…you feel better already don't you?" Natalie asked stripping down and putting on a negligee. Then she climbed into the bed, she crawled over to him and placed a long lingering kiss on his lips then lay down and wrapped herself around him resting her head on his chest. "Go to sleep now my love…tomorrow we go home as a family and I can take care of you and our baby forever."

Nate did not have to see Sophie to know that she was hurting when she listened to those words. He did not have to see her to know the pain in her eyes as she imagined him in bed with another woman who was whispering her love to him. He closed his eyes wishing tomorrow would come so that this could all be over.

**Thank you all so very much for your reviews. Will Nate be able to get Natalie to take him to his son? Will they be able to get his son back without him being harmed, or will Natalie realize that Nate is playing her? I will post again soon. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter.**


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Good morning sleepy head…" Natalie said as Nate opened his eyes.

"What…what time is it?" Nate asked sitting up in the bed slowly.

"It's nearly nine o'clock." She said moving around the bed to stand in front of him. "I didn't have the heart to wake you."

"_Good morning Nate…can you please go and get our son now?" He heard Sophie's voice in his ear and smiled._

"I'm glad you are feeling better." Natalie said seeing his smile and returning it. "You see, everything is always better when you are with the one you love." She said leaning down and capturing his lips with hers. "I bought you some new clothes, they are in the bathroom." She said pulling away from him. "Breakfast is on its way."

Nate nodded and stood up from the bed almost tilting over as he did so. He was still not in the best of shapes.

"Careful Nate…" Natalie said running to his side and steadying him.

"I'm fine…" Nate said placing his hands on her shoulders. "I promise."

"Ok…well go get cleaned up and then we can eat. We have to be on the road in the next hour or so or we will never get home before dark." She said going to the door to let room service in.

"_Hey guys…" Nate said under his breath as he turned the taps on and closed the door to the bathroom. "You ready, we are going to be moving soon."_

"_We're ready." Eliot said. Looking over at the four people seated in the car with him. Sophie, Maggie and Hardison had turned up outside the hotel early that morning insisting on accompanying them, and although he did not like the idea, he knew it was pointless arguing._

"_Sophie…"_

"_Just get our son back Nate, and make sure you come back with him." Sophie said before he could say anything._

"_Ok, so you can track me right. Keep out of sight, if she sees any one of you the games over." Nate said._

"_Don't worry Nate, she will only see us when it's too late." Parker said her voice dark and foreboding._

"_I better get back."_

"_Be careful Nate, please…" Sophie said softly. She was afraid; the only thing worse for her than losing her child would be losing both David and Nate._

"_I will." Nate said. Finishing getting dressed he turned off the taps and went out into the room._

"You look much better." Natalie said as he walked into the room. "Your fever is down and you are breathing better. Today you are to take it easy." She instructed leading him to the table. "I ordered you eggs and bacon." She said sitting him down.

"When do we go home?" Nate asked taking a bite of his toast.

"As soon as you have finished your breakfast, you need to build you strength."

"I'm not really that hungry. I'd like to get going."

"Oh so eager…" Natalie said leaning into him and kissing him softly. "But you need to eat Nate and I will brook no argument." She said pushing the plate closer to him.

"I just can't wait to start our life that's all." Nate said playing his part. "I also want to see my…our son…" Nate smiled at her.

"Well as soon as I have packed and you have finished your breakfast we can get going." Natalie said, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek and then went into the bedroom to pack. "Don't worry so much, David is fine, he is going to be so happy to see you. I have everything arranged; you don't need to worry about anything." She called back to him as she packed their bags.

"_Well she's fallen for Nate's act lock stock and smoking barrel…She's on the hook." Eliot said softly. _

"_Yeah…I didn't know Nate was such a good Grifter." Maggie agreed._

"_It's my tutelage that did it." Sophie said and Nate could see the smile in her voice despite the worry. _

Things were progressing swiftly and he seemed to have managed to convince Natalie that he felt the same about her, which, he had to admit wasn't difficult, because the woman wanted to believe it. In a way Nate felt sorry for her. She was not an evil person; she was just…well delusional. Somehow he had caused her to snap, to have a psychotic break of some kind and she was fixated on him and being with him. He knew she would never hurt his child and although he was anxious to get David back, he was not worried about his wellbeing. He looked over at Natalie who was busy packing their cases and humming to herself as she did. The only thing was if he slipped up, if she suspected he was playing her, he did not know what she would do.

"_You should have seen him when we first started…he was just plain awful…" Sophie said. "He was always so 'over-the-top' with all his characters…" She was feeling a little better now. The con was working, and this was a con she told herself, this is what they did, and they were very good at it. She was feeling confident that Nate would manage to get David back and then they could leave this place and go home._

"_You'll have to tell me about some of them sometime." Maggie said cutting into her thoughts._

"_I'm sure Hardison has some video he could show you of some of them…like the one where he played a fashion designer…" Parker chipped in._

"_I missed that one…" Sophie said sadly, she would have like to have seen Nate all dressed up with an earring and everything. _

"_I'll show you sometime…he looked like a damn peacock…" Hardison said enthusiastically._

"_Guys…do you mind." Nate said sotto voice turning his face away from Natalie._

"_Sorry…" Sophie said lightly. _

"Nate are you done with breakfast." Natalie said coming back into the room. "Perhaps you would like to go to the bathroom before we leave. I have called for someone to take our bags and as soon as you are ready we can go." Natalie said again speaking to him like a child. Nate realized that this is what she wanted, what she needed. She wanted someone who was completely dependent on her. That is why she had kept him sedated before, kept him weak. She wanted somebody who could not survive without her and that way they would always stay with her. He had read about that kind of psychopathy before, now he was seeing it in action.

"Thank you for breakfast…I think I will go to the bathroom." Nate said standing up from the table. He would play to her needs, he would be the weak, fragile man she needed him to be. He swayed slightly as he stood and she was immediately by his side.

"Nate…are you alright?" She asked taking him by the arm.

"I…I feel a little dizzy…I…" Nate said suddenly not feeling at all well as the room swam before him.

"Yes my darling I know…" Natalie said as she took his arm. "I have arranged for a wheelchair for you, you know you are not as strong as you think…" Natalie just shook her head sadly. "You will always need my care Nate…and I will always take care of you, because I love you." Natalie said leading Nate into the bedroom and sitting him on the bed. Then she lay him back and told him to stay where he was she was going to let the hotel porter in.

"_Nate…Nate what's going on?" Sophie's anxious voice came over the coms, the lighthearted tone gone from the earlier banter._

"_She's drugged me…I…I don't think…I don't…" Nate said his words slurring slightly._

"_Nate…" Eliot said concern plain in his voice._

"_I don't think she has fallen completely for Nate's act completely." Parker said._

"_I'm ok for now Eliot…just follow us…she has to lead us to where she is holding David…Eliot you can't make a move until you are sure you can get him…David…You can't…" Nate said closing his eyes trying to fight the darkness that now spotted his vision._

"What did you say…?" Natalie said entering the room just as Nate finished speaking to Eliot.

"I…Nothing, I just am so very tired…" Nate said opening his eyes and staring at the woman.

"I know my darling…don't worry I'll take good care of you." She said motioning the porter to bring the wheelchair closer. "Now I know you want to walk yourself but you know you can't, so just get in the chair." She said taking firm voice.

Nate could not argue with her if he wanted to. Between herself and the porter, they got him into the chair and she pushed him out of the door with the porter in tow.

"Now it is going to be a long drive my love, so I have made sure you will be comfortable." Natalie said as she steered him towards her car. When she opened the door he could see that the front passenger's seat had been laid fully back and lined with a blanket. He was placed in the seat and another blanket was pulled over him. Nate could feel the blackness start to overwhelm him completely and then he was out.

"Eliot…" Sophie asked anxiously.

"It's ok Sophie…she's not going to hurt him. She just wants him compliant."

"So she drugs him…just like she kept him sedated in that house." Hardison said disgustedly.

"Yeah…" Eliot said watching as the car drove out of the parking area of the hotel. "Ok…here we go"

Eliot did not immediately follow the car. They did not have to keep it in view to know where it was going. Hardison was tracking it via Nate's earbud so they had some leeway. The last thing he wanted was for Natalie to suspect she was being tailed. He waited a good ten minutes before pulling away.

"We are on our way Nate, going home. I am so happy. You, I and David are going to be so very happy." Natalie babbled to the unconscious man as she drove them out of town. "We are going far away from here, away from the clinic and those people that call themselves your family. Away from Dr. Hunt…away from everything. I have found a place where they will never find us. A new life Nate, just me and you and David, isn't it going to be great?"

"She's certifiable." Hardison said listening to the woman go on and on.

"I would pay good money to make her stop talking." Eliot said trying to tune out the woman as she went on about how happy Nate and her life together was going to be. How she would get a job at the local hospital and they would homeschool their son and so on and so on…

"She might be certifiable but she is smart and she is dangerous." Maggie said.

"That she is." Eliot agreed.

"So do we have a plan?" Maggie asked.

"Well until we know where we are going and what the place looks like not really." Hardison said. "We will have to play it by ear."

"Well I don't think Nate is going to be much help, not in the state she is keeping him in."

"Oh Nate is the best help of all. He is the distraction. She is not interested in anything but him. David is just something she needed to lure him in…" Eliot said then stopped speaking as the implications of his words hit him.

"No…no Eliot you are wrong, David has become part of the fantasy, he is part of her 'family' now." Sophie said although her voice held uncertainty and almost panic in it. Had she been wrong, had Nate been wrong? Would Natalie hurt David or worse. Oh God…was David already dead?

"Yes, you're right." Eliot said quickly. She had to be right because if she wasn't then David could be dead, discarded as soon as Natalie had Nate. Eliot was not willing to entertain that thought.

"Eliot…"

"You're right Sophie…I'm sure." He said softly.

"She must know that if she did anything to David, Nate would never stay with her…I mean she would have to keep him sedated all the time, not knowing where he was. Nate would not be able to speak to her, what would be the point?" Maggie asked picking up on the direction that Sophie and Eliot's conversation was going in.

Silence greeted Maggie's words as they all listened to Natalie speaking to an unconscious Nate as if he was awake and speaking back to her. Their hearts sank as they realized that she did not care if Nate was awake or not, just that he was with her.

"No…no David is part of her family now…" Sophie said with conviction. She had to believe it, she had to because if she let herself doubt that, if she let herself even think of the consequences of that not being true, she would not be able to function.

They sat in silence again. Each of them consumed with their own thoughts, fighting their own demons. It was a couple of hours later as dusk was falling that Hardison told them that Natalie had turned off the main road. She was on a dirt road leading to a farmhouse. Nate had still not regained consciousness, but they all listened as Natalie told him that they were home and started describing the house, and the yard where their son would play. She was giving them the details they needed. She spoke about their room, hers and Nate's and how big and bright it was. She told him about the nursery that was decorated perfectly for a little boy. At the mention of the nursery Sophie's heart soared again, David must still be alive…he must be.

"Ok…let's get this done." Eliot growled as he turned down the road.

**Sorry yet another cliffhanger...Let me know what you thought.**


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Eliot pulled the car up out of sight of the house. Natalie was parked by the front door and another young woman was helping her load Nate out of the car and into the wheelchair.

"How is the baby?" Natalie asked as she pushed Nate inside with the nanny following her carrying their bags.

"Fine…he's a really good baby. I feel so sorry for him losing his mother like that and only a few days old. He is so lucky to have you." She replied following Natalie into the room that had been set up for Nate.

"_Lucky my ass…" Hardison hissed._

"Yes, it was a tragedy…" Natalie said stopping the wheelchair next to the bed. "Help me get him into bed."

"Is he going to be alright?" She asked as she helped the unconscious Nate out of the chair and onto the special bed that had been set up. "I mean for the little one to lose both his parents…"

"He's going to be fine. I'm going to make sure he is." Natalie said running her hand down Nate's cheek and looking at him lovingly. "He is very weak, very ill…" Natalie said. "But I am going to take care of him."

"He looks like he should be in hospital." The girl said looking at Nate.

"Yes but I explained all of that." Natalie said turning to the girl. "Now you remember what I told you don't you."

"I remember." The girl said softly.

"Good. It is very important that nobody knows he is here or the people who did this to him could come after him again. You know what they are like…" Natalie said meaningfully. "They will kill him and they will kill the baby...You understand that to keep them safe, nobody can know."

"I know…" The girl said fear tingeing her voice.

"You know what to do if anybody comes looking for either Nate or the Baby right? You remember what I told you…? Who we are…where we come from…You remember right?"

"I remember…don't worry Nat…they won't find them. Nobody will find you here, they are both safe here." The girl said.

"You're a good girl. Your father would be proud of you for doing this you know?" Natalie smiled at her.

"_What the hell has she told that girl…?" Maggie asked in a hushed voice as she listened to the conversation. _

"Now thank you for helping me get him home and safe in bed. I need to take care of him now so go home. I will see you tomorrow morning." Natalie said ushering her out of the room and towards the door.

"Yes, mum asked that I not stay away too long anyway." She said as she picked up her bag at the door. "Are you sure you are going to be alright?"

"Yes…yes I'm sure." Natalie said ushering her out of the room and towards the door. "I will see you in the morning."

"Ok…well good night."

Natalie walked out with her and watched her get into her car and drive off. Then she turned and re-entered the house locking the door behind her. Going into Nate's room she found him awake and trying to sit up.

"No…no Nate just lay still." Natalie said coming to sit next to him.

"Natalie…what…where…" Nate stuttered confused. His mind was fuzzy. He could not quite place himself. How long had he been out he wondered, then his mind focused on David, he had to get his son.

"Don't worry Nate, we are home." She said taking his hand in hers. "You slept the whole way. You are still so very weak my darling, please just lie back."

"Where's…where's David." Nate asked anxiously.

"Sleeping..." Natalie informed him. "We are not going to wake him now." She said. "You can see him in the morning."

"_Nate keep her busy…Parker is going in now to get David." Eliot's voice floated over the coms._

Great they were here. They were going to get David. He had to do his part. He reached out clumsily and put his arms around her.

"Nate…" Natalie said smiling happily at the contact.

"I just want to say thank you, for looking after me, for taking care of my son and for bringing me home."

"Oh Nate… I am so happy." Natalie said wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into her.

"Me too…" He said softly.

"_I'm in…" Parker told them._

"_You're doing good Nate…just keep her busy for a little while longer." Sophie said softly._

"You've been so good Nate, I think you deserve a reward…I'll make sure that tomorrow you spend some time with your son." Her words sank into Nate's mind. She was going to use David to keep him here, use a baby to make him behave. The gall rose in his throat as he contemplated that.

"Now let's make you comfortable and make sure you are getting the right medications." She said pulling away from him.

"I don't need…"

"I will tell you what you need Nate. You are ill, you are weak and I am a nurse, so don't argue with me." Natalie said her voice suddenly harsh. Nate swallowed hard and decided to let her do whatever she wanted to. If she was busy with him she could not stop Parker from getting to David.

"_He's not here…The crib is empty." Parker said looking down at the crib._

"_What…no that's not possible." Sophie gasped out._

"_He must be with the nanny. That is why she had to get back to her house, her mother must be looking after him while she came back to help Natalie with Nate." Maggie said recalling the conversation Natalie had with the nanny._

"_Did she say her name? I don't remember her saying her name." Hardison asked. If he had a name he could trace her._

"_No but she can't stay far from here, check it out Hardison, we are looking for a young woman staying with her parents, or at least her mother." Eliot said desperation in his voice. Sophie could not take much more of this, neither could Nate, God only knew what Natalie was going to do to the Mastermind next._

"_David…" Sophie said softly, this was all starting to become too much for her to bear. The rollercoaster ride of a day was taking its toll. Nate was in the clutches of a mad woman who was drugging him, her son was who knows where and there was nothing she could do about it. She was still recovering from childbirth herself and she was very close to being completely overwhelmed._

"Can I see David tonight…please?" Nate asked his voice plaintive. The complete despair in Sophie's voice as she said their son's name almost brining him to tears. But he knew he had to be strong, he had to find out where David was. He was not in the house and Nate's panic levels were rising.

"No Nate." Natalie said as she stuck the IV needle into his arm. "I told you we are not waking him."

"But he is here, here in this house?" Nate asked ignoring the sting of the needle and the burn of the medication as it made its way into his blood stream. He needed her to talk to him; he needed to know where David was.

"Yes. But he is asleep…" Natalie said not even hesitating in the lie. "Now lie back and relax. It has been a long day and I can see you are tired."

"_Nate, try and get the girls name, the one who helped her get you into bed." Hardison told him._

"_Nate…" Sophie whispered plaintively._

"Natalie, who was the girl who helped you get me into bed earlier?" Nate asked without thinking, they needed the information and he was going to get it. He was starting to fade again, drifting into the twilight that the medication was sending him into. He had to get her to tell them now, before he was completely overcome by the sedatives she was administering to him.

"Who…Oh…why, did you find her attractive…?" Natalie said and Nate could not decide if she had a note of jealousy in her voice or if she was teasing him.

"No…no…no I just…well I was just curious. You know that I only have eyes for you Natalie, you are my savior." Nate said quickly. Even though the medication was now pulling him back under, he still had the presence of mind to say what Natalie needed to hear.

"Oh Nate…" Natalie smiled at him. "You say the sweetest things sometimes. Melisa is the woman I hired to take care of our son. She is an old friend and she will keep him safe. I am going to be busy with you and we need somebody to look after David." Natalie said falling into Nate's trap and giving Hardison a name to work with. "She is a good girl and very good with children. You don't have to worry about David."

"Natalie…" Nate said his voice fading out as he found himself drawn back into the darkness of a drug induced sleep.

"Sleep and rest Nate. Don't worry about anything; I am going to take care of you…" Natalie said smiling down at him lovingly.

"_Got it…Melisa Grandville. She lives on the next farm with her mother, It's only four miles up the road. Her father was killed in the line of duty, he was a policeman working the docks district…." Hardison said looking up from his computer. "Natalie was his nurse."_

"_Let's go…" Eliot said gunning the engine and then setting off for Melissa's house._

Natalie looked down at the man and then frowned slightly. Something was wrong…something was wrong, she kept saying to herself but she could not quite grasp what it was that was worrying her. Then her eyes darkened with anger, fear and disappointment as she stared down at the now sleeping Mastermind.

"Nate…what have you done…" She said as she leaned over him. "How did you know somebody helped me put you into bed?" She whispered in his ear.

"_Oh shit…" Eliot said as he listened to her. _

"_Nate…" Sophie said. _

"_We have to go back." Parker said scared for what the woman might do to Nate._

"_No…David first…" Eliot said speeding up as they raced towards Melissa's house._

"_Eliot she could…she could hurt Nate." Maggie said plaintively fear biting at her._

"_I know…" _

"_Then…"_

"_David first Maggie…that's what Nate would want. We get David then we get Nate."_

"_If there is a Nate to get…" Maggie said angrily._

"_Stop it…please…" Sophie said turning towards Maggie. She was scared too. She was afraid for Nate, she was also afraid for her son. How did she choose? How could she choose?_

"_Sophie, she won't hurt him…" Eliot said over his shoulder, although he was not sure that was true. "We get David first…" He had to make that decision for them. It was the decision Nate would make. Besides, they were already more than halfway to Melissa's house, turning back now would not help either Nate or David. _

"After everything I have done for you Nate how could you…? How did you know…?" Natalie asked her anger building inside her. "Well you are going to tell me…you are…" She said as she administered a shot to Nate. "I gave you everything Nate…and this is how you repay me…?" She said plaintively. She was angry and disappointed and more than that, she was hurt. She loved this man so very much and he had betrayed her.

"Natalie…" Nate said as he came back to consciousness a few minutes later as the drug she used to reverse the sedatives effects took effect.

"_Nate be careful…she knows something is wrong." Sophie said urgently as soon as she heard his voice._

"What…?" Nate asked confused and disorientated.

"How did you know that somebody helped me put you into bed?" Natalie immediately asked him her eyes now burning with the anger she felt, the betrayal of the man she loved causing her to lose her control.

"I…I…what…?" Nate asked his mind still in a haze from the drugs.

"Tell me now Nate…how did you know?" Natalie screamed at him slapping him across the face.

"I don't…Natalie…" Nate said still unable to completely focus on what was happening.

"It's your friends isn't it? It's that woman…" Natalie hissed at him. "You were tricking me…They have come here to take you away from me."

"Natalie I don't know what you are talking about…?" Nate said as he regained some of his mental control.

"Yes you do…" She shouted at him. "You knew and there was no way you could have known, you were asleep…how did you know…why did you betray me…I loved you Nate and you chose to betray me…you chose to betray me…You chose her…" She ranted grabbing his shirt and shaking him as she spoke.

"Natalie please…" Nate said unable to stop her. The drugs still coursing through his system leaving him at her mercy.

"You betrayed me…" Natalie screamed out. Then she stepped away from the bed and glared at him. "It doesn't matter now anyway, I don't care how you knew, I don't care if they are listening to us right now. I have nothing…you have left me nothing…Are they far away…how long before they come for you?" She asked pitifully the anger dissipating into despair.

"Natalie I didn't betray you…I…"

"Don't lie to me Nate…don't…I know you did, I know…" Natalie said drying her eyes and composing herself. "But it is ok…We will still be together forever…"

"_We're here Nate…we are here and we are going in to get David…you have to stall her." Eliot told the Mastermind._

"You know, I loved you from the first. I knew you were the one. You were so alone, so vulnerable. You needed me." Natalie said completely calm now. "Then they arrived, those people…" Natalie spat the word out. "They arrived and everything changed. It was like you forgot about me, me who saved you, who loved you." She said taking out two ampules of morphine, enough to overdose and filling two the syringes she took from the drawer as she spoke. "I waited so long Nate, so long for you to come to me. I didn't want to be alone anymore. I knew you would be with me forever. I knew I would love you forever. That's why I saved you, that is why I protected you." She said walking back over to him.

"Natalie please…I don't know what you are talking about really…I only know I am here in this house, our house with you…" Nate said trying to stall her. He was still unable to move, although he was awake and cognizant, he was still immobile. He tried desperately to push himself up to get himself moving but the drugs in his system made it impossible.

"You can't get up Nate…you are too weak. I know you are scared but don't be. We are going to be together, I won't hurt you my darling. We are just going to go to sleep…" She smiled at him as he struggled to get himself up.

"_Parker go, Sophie and Maggie stay here with her, she'll get David out and then you keep him safe…Nate just stall we're coming back for you…" Eliot said looking Sophie in the eye and begging her to do as he told her_

"_Eliot..."_

"_Sophie please…" He said. She could not be there, if they got back to the house and Nate was gone, Sophie could not be there. Sophie nodded and climbed out the car. Maggie followed suite and as soon as the doors were closed Eliot sped away._

"I should have known. I should have known when that woman arrived that she would take you from me. Well she can't have you. You belong with me…not her. I don't think she wants you either, she came for your child not for you…but she can have him, all I want is you, but she won't stop with taking him, she is going to take you too…I can't allow that, can't you see. I love you too much. We must be together." Natalie rambled on.

"_Nate…no…" Sophie cried out listening to the woman speak and realizing the implications of her words. She was going to kill Nate._

"We could have been so happy together. I love you so very much my darling." She said leaning in and kissing him gently. "But you betrayed me, you chose her instead of me. You chose them instead of me…I forgive you though, I do…" She said filling the second syringe. "I forgive you because I love you." She said climbing onto the bed with him holding both the syringes.

"_Nate stall Goddammit…" Eliot hissed._

"_I have David…I'm coming out." Parker said softly._

"Don't worry my love…I promise it won't hurt. We will just drift off into sleep, together forever just like I promised. I know you are scared but don't be…I will take care of you." Natalie's voice carried to all of them filling them with dread.

"Natalie…please, I didn't betray you...You are imaging things." Nate made one last try to avert what he now knew was coming.

"No I am not Nate. You did betray me. You did." She said as she slid the needle into his arm. She looked at him, holding his gaze and smiling at him as the tears flowed down her face. "But I forgive you my darling…" She said as she pushed in the plunger sending the contents of the syringe flowing into Nate's veins. "Don't worry my love…it's just like going to sleep…there will be no pain, just peace…peace my love in a place where we can be together forever…the way it was meant to be." She said kissing him again.

"_Sophie…" Parker called out making her way to where the two woman stood mesmerized by the macabre play taking place between Natalie and Nate._

"_Oh David…" Sophie cried out taking the baby from Parker and holding her son to her tightly tears coursing down her face. Tears for her son, tears for Nate..._

Nate heard her and smiled contentedly. The drug was taking it's effect, he could feel his body shutting down, feel the life draining from him. But it was alright, because his family was alive and well and his son was safely in the arms of his wife. That was good, he thought to himself as he began to fade. That was good he thought.

"_Nate…Nate…We are almost there…just hold on dammit…" Eliot said as he brought the car to a screeching halt outside the farmhouse. _

Natalie wrapped her arms around Nate as she lay beside him. She had injected herself with the same amount of morphine as she had him. They would meet their end together; they would be together forever just as she had promised him. She kissed him gently on the lips smiling at him sweetly.

"I love you Nate…I love you…" She said resting her head on his chest and closing her eyes.

"I love you Sophie, I love you both, you and David…take care of our son my darling…Take care of our family…Eliot…take care…of…our family." Nate's whispered final words were almost inaudible as his eyes closed and the effects of the drug claimed him.

"Nate…NATE…NO…Please no…" Sophie sobbed. Maggie and Parker moved in on either side of her and held her up. Maggie had tears streaming down her face as she fought to keep her control. Nate's son needed her now David needed her and Sophie needed her to be strong. Neither she nor Parker tried to take the now crying baby from her arms, they just stood there holding her supporting her and listening to the silence of the coms.

**Oh sorry another cliffhanger…I do seem to do that a lot. Well will Eliot be able to save Nate. Will he be able to reverse the effects of the morphine Natalie gave to him or is this the end for Nate? Please review and let me know what you thought of the chapter. I really do appreciate all reviews.**


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Eliot burst through the door of the farmhouse. He ran through the house checking each room as he went with Hardison on his heels as they both called out Nate's name loudly.

"Eliot…" Hardison called as he looked into the main bedroom.

"Oh God…" Eliot said as he joined Hardison.

Nate was lying on the bed with Natalie wrapped around him. Neither one of them were moving.

"Nate…Nate…" Eliot said rushing to the side of the bed and feeling for a pulse. He found none.

"_Eliot is he…" Maggie said unable to ask the question fully._

"_Eliot…" Sophie and Parker said his name simultaneously the same question implied, and the pure unadulterated fear in their voices almost drown Eliot. _

Eliot tuned them out then, he had to concentrate on Nate. He unceremoniously pulled Natalie off Nate and dropped her body to the ground not even bothering to check her life signs. Placing Nate's head back and then leaning in to put his head next to Nate's to check for respiration. He wasn't breathing either. Dammit Nate don't you die on me now… Eliot thought as he struggled to control his emotions.

"What did she give him…?" He asked as he checked Nate's pulse again before starting CPR. "Hardison…what did she give him?"

"I don't…wait…here…morphine…she gave him morphine…" Hardison said raising the empty ampule up for Eliot to see.

"Ok…ok…check through everything…find a drug called Naloxone or Narcon…She should have some here just in case." Eliot said as he started doing CPR. "Come on Nate…come on man, you got a son who needs you, Sophie needs you…hell I need you dammmit…" Eliot said pumping Nate's chest and counting aloud then breathing for him. "Hardison…"

"I'm looking…" Hardison shouted back at him. "Here I got it…Naloxone…"

"Good…syringe Hardison now…"

"Yeah…" Hardison said going through the drawers and pulling out a syringe. He pulled the medicine into the syringe and then handed it to Eliot.

Eliot jammed the needle into Nate's IV depressing the plunger. "Come on Nate…" He whispered as he stared at the lifeless form of the Mastermind. The drug usually worked within a minute or two if administered intravenously. Eliot kept on doing CPR on Nate whilst looking for any signs that he was responding.

"Ok…Hardison we need more…" He said when after waiting about a minute and there was no response to the drug.

Hardison nodded and handed him another syringe full of Naloxone. Just as Eliot was about to inject it into Nate, the Mastermind took an audibly deep breath, as if he was coming out from being held underwater for a period of time.

"That's it Nate breathe…breathe…" Eliot said.

Nate coughed fighting to gain control as he pulled air into his starved lungs and then he opened his eyes to stare at his Hitter.

"Eliot…" He mouthed rather than said.

"Yeah…It's me…that's it just breathe. She overdosed you with morphine." He said. "I gave you Naloxone…"

Nate nodded; he knew the drug. They used in rehab too. It was used to counteract opiate overdose it worked fast and was efficient.

"You're going to be alright." Eliot said placing his hand on Nate's shoulder and squeezing it gently.

"Sophie…" Nate croaked out.

"I'm fine and so is our son." Sophie's voice came over the coms reassuring him.

"Hardison go and pick them up." Eliot said turning to the Hacker. Hardison nodded then turned and left. The sooner he got Sophie and David here to Nate the better.

"Nate…" Eliot said looking down at the Mastermind. "You need to stay awake ok…you need to stay conscious. The drug usually lasts for about forty-five minutes…I need you to stay awake, if you sleep you could slip back into coma…"

"Ok…" Nate said weakly. "Natalie…?"

"Dead…" Eliot said simply. He hadn't checked and he probably could have tried to save her, but he was not going to use any of the Naloxone on her when they could need it for Nate, they only had a two doses left and Nate was most likely going to need at least one more.

Eliot watched Nate closely and saw that the Mastermind was shivering and that he was sweating, he felt his pulse, it was high... These was side effects of the drug he knew. He saw Nate wince in pain and took his hand in his.

"It's the side effects." Eliot said squeezing his hand.

Nate nodded his understanding. He knew the drug caused nausea, fever, abdominal pain, irregular heartbeat and elevated blood pressure amongst other things. Some of the other things were not so pleasant, like coma, cardiac arrest and death.

"Nate, Hardison is here and we are on our way…You hear me Nate, I'm coming." Sophie told him. Nate tried to respond but instead ground his teeth against another surge of pain that ripped through his gut.

"He hears you Sophie…" Eliot said for him. "Just hang in there Nate…just hang in there man." He said not letting go of Nate's hand.

He sat like that with Nate until Sophie and the others arrived. Sophie then took his place at Nate's side grabbing his hand and clinging to him as if her life depended on it. Maggie and Parker hung back letting Sophie be with her husband. Maggie held David as she watched the her ex-husband and his wife reunite.

"Nate…Nate…Oh God I love you…" She said kissing him and placing her free hand on his forehead. Immediately she looked at Eliot alarmed at the heat emanating from him.

"It's the effects of the drug." Eliot explained.

Sophie nodded and turned back to Nate. "I'm here Nate, we are all here. We are all safe…oh Nate…" She whispered to him.

"David…" Nate asked fighting yet another wave of pain.

"He's here…Maggie has him."

"I…I want to see him."

Sophie smiled at him and then motioned Maggie to bring her their son. She took the baby from Maggie and held him close to Nate. Nate looked at him and smiled reaching out his hand to hold his sons' tiny one.

"I love you son…" He whispered. David gurgled back as if he understood that Nate was talking to him.

"I love you both so very much…" He said looking up at Sophie.

"We love you Nate…" She said leaning in and kissing him gently. Tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Don't cry Sophie…please…I don't like it when you cry." Nate said brushing his thumb over her cheek and wiping away the tears.

"Oh Nate…" Sophie said leaning into his touch.

"It's ok Sophie…it's all going to be ok…" He said pulling her down to him to kiss her gently.

Eliot watched as Sophie stood beside the bed holding her son. He saw Nate reach out and take the babies hand and despite himself he could feel unwanted tears build in his eyes. This had been a harrowing few days for all of them. Hell it had been a month from hell, and it was not over yet he thought with a deep sigh. They were closer to their happy conclusion, but…well there was a chance they still may not get it.

"Call me if there is any change…if he starts to drift, or…or anything." Eliot whispered to Maggie who was standing beside him.

"He's not out of the woods is he?" Maggie asked looking at Nate her eyes starting water again.

"No he's not…" Eliot said turning to her. "The drug I gave him usually as an efficacy of around forty-five minutes…more often than not it has to be administered in multiple doses before the effects of the overdose are countered. The side effects can…well they are bad." He said. "Add to that he… well he was already weak. He was only just recovering from the injuries from the explosion, then the suffocation, then the effects of the sedatives, of the drug she used to counteract them. His body has taken hit after hit…His heart, his lungs…I just don't know Maggie…"

"There is only so much one person can take." Maggie whispered.

"Yeah…I mean he is strong Maggie…but…" Eliot said softly.

"He's only human…" Maggie smiled sadly.

"Don't tell him that…" Eliot said softly looking at the Mastermind. "But yes he's only human…"

"I'll watch him." Maggie assured the Hitter. "He can't…he can't die Eliot…not now, not after everything, it just wouldn't be fair."

Eliot did not answer her; he simply looked at her his eyes saying what he could not. Then he turned away and looked towards Parker.

"You want to help me?" He asked looking at the form of Natalie Brent lying on the floor.

Parker nodded and after Eliot had lifted the lifeless body of the woman, who had caused so much heartache for all of them, followed him out of the room. They would bury her here. She wanted to disappear; well now she would. She had no family, nobody to notify anyway.

"Eliot, what about the girl Melissa and her mother…?" Parker asked as they dug Natalie's grave.

"Yeah…" Eliot sighed. Another problem he thought tiredly. Well they could not leave here, at least not for the next forty-eight hours. Not until he was sure that Nate was well enough to travel. They had all the medical equipment they would need here, thanks to Natalie, and the nearest hospital was at least a couple of hours drive. "One thing at a time Parker…" He said as he slammed the spade into the ground.

**Thanks again for the great reviews. Sorry I made you all so anxious, but Nate is still alive so you can all breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too, please review and let me know.**


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

It had been a long night. Eliot had had to administer both of the remaining doses of Naloxone in order to counteract the morphine overdose. It had been a rough few hours for Nate and now the Mastermind was now sleeping. Eliot sat beside him he had spent the night watching Nate. Checking his pulse and blood pressure every hour and waking Nate to make sure he was still with them. Eventually exhaustion had overtaken him and he too slept. Sophie lay in a bed that they had moved into the room. Her and David slept peacefully. Parker and Hardison had taken one of spare bedrooms and Maggie the other.

Dawn was breaking when Parker crept into the room. She made her way to Nate's bedside and leaned over the man. She took his wrist and felt for a pulse letting out a sigh of relief when she found one. He was breathing evenly too though very shallowly. She smiled down at him then after satisfied that he was still alive.

"Parker…" Eliot said softly as he came awake to find the Thief standing next to Nate.

"Hi Eliot…" She said looking up at him. "Just checking on him..."

"Yeah…it was a rough night." Eliot said stretching and then running a hand over his face.

"But he's ok now right?"

"Yeah he's doing better." Eliot said noncommittally. Nate was alive and he was over the worst of it but he was far from ok.

"When do you think we can go?"

"I don't know Parker…he is still very weak and if we are on the road and something happens…" Eliot sighed heavily.

"So we are stuck here for a while longer?"

"Yeah…at least for another day to be safe…"

"Our other guests are also good." Parker informed him. During the night they had had a visit from Melissa and her mother, coming to inform Natalie of the missing baby. Although they had put up a fight, Parker and Hardison had easily subdued them and then locked them in the basement until they could decide what to do.

"Yeah about them…"

"What are we going to do with them when we are ready to go?" Parker asked is question for him.

"You got a plan I suppose?"

"No…but I will have one when we need it." Parker said happily.

"You know you are so much like him it's scary." Eliot said seeing the look of pleasure on her face at the words.

"Well I don't drink…" Parker said seriously.

"Morning…" Hardison said coming into the room and standing behind Parker pulling her into a hug.

"Morning..." Parker said turning and giving him a kiss much to Eliot's disgust.

"How's he doing?"

"Eliot said he is doing good, we should be ready to leave here in a day or so…" Parker said looking at the Hitter. "Right…?"

"Yeah, he's doing better."

"Right, so you…" Parker said turning back to face Hardison. "You have to get us a ride home. Charter, I don't think he will be able to fly normal.

"Consider it done." Hardison smiled at her kissing her again.

"Ah come on you two, if it ain't Nate and Sophie then it's you too…give me a break will you?" Eliot said although both of them knew he did not mean it and the smile belayed the tone in his voice.

"Ok…well Sophie is still sleeping. She was up most of the night, what with the baby and sitting with Nate. Maggie, I take it, is also still asleep?"

"No she isn't…" Maggie said as she came into the room.

"Morning..." Eliot said smiling at her.

"Morning…how is he?" she asked looking at Nate.

"Better." Eliot informed her.

"Good, and how is she?" Maggie said looking over at Sophie who still slept with David next to her.

"Tired, she stayed up most of the night."

"Yeah…so Eliot how long are we going to be here?"

"At least another day..." Eliot said. "Hey I'm starving…let's go see what's in the kitchen." He said. "You two can stay here with him, keep an eye on him, I had him awake about two hours ago. He needs to rest but we wake him again in about another hour. Maggie and me will go make everyone breakfast."

"No sweat, we'll take care of him." Hardison said pulling up a chair for Parker and one for himself.

Two hours later found them sitting around the table eating the breakfast Eliot and Maggie had prepared. Sophie was still sleeping as was Nate, whom they had awoken to check on and then he had promptly gone straight back to sleep. Eliot and Parker had taken their guests food too.

"Ok, so what's the plan?" Maggie asked as she finished her breakfast and sat back with a cup of coffee in her hand.

"We wait till Nate is strong enough, then we head for Rockstock. Hardison has a charter on standby, we fly home." Parker said succinctly.

"And our guests…?" Maggie asked concerned about the fate of the two people in the basement. "You know it was Natalie who dragged them into this."

"Yeah…" Eliot said looking at the blonde. "Parker…?" Eliot asked.

"We leave them where they are until we are gone." Parker said then seeing the worry on Maggie's face she smiled. "Once we are gone we blow the lock on the door remotely letting them out. By the time they make it back to their place and get in contact with anybody, we will be long gone." Parker said nonchalantly.

"Sounds like a plan." Eliot agreed.

Sophie woke thirty minutes later and after having her breakfast Eliot gave her food to take in to Nate.

"Make sure he eats." He instructed her as she picked up the small plate of filled with scrambled eggs.

"Yes sir." She smiled at the Hitter. "Thank you Eliot." She said pecking him on the cheek and then turning and heading towards Nate's bedroom.

"Hey Nate…" Sophie said as the Mastermind opened his eyes as she shook him gently.

"Sophie." He said smiling at her. Sophie smiled back leaning in and capturing his lips. Nate wrapped his arms around her and pulled her down to him deepening the kiss.

"Careful mister…" Sophie said as she pulled back. "You are still not all better just yet." She smiled at him as she helped him sit up in the bed and pulled the tray table with his breakfast on it closer.

"Yes, but you are the best medicine, you and my son." Nate said his blue eyes boring into her filling her with such a feeling of love she actually blushed. "Where is my son anyway?"

"Maggie's looking after him." Sophie said.

"Sophie I'm not really very hungry…" Nate said looking at the plate of food in front of him.

"Don't care. You are eating." Sophie said in a tone which told Nate she would brook no argument from him. "I want to go home and until Eliot gives you the all clear to travel, I am stuck here."

Nate frowned at her and then sighed heavily. He was not going to get passed Sophie on this. He picked up the fork and took a small mouthful of scrambled egg. Looking at Sophie as if to say 'see I'm eating' he chewed and swallowed.

"Happy…" He asked lightly.

"Not until it's finished."

Nate rolled his eyes but finished the small amount of food he had been served. Then he lay back in the bed again.

"Nate, we nearly lost you." Sophie said softly her eyes big and swimming in unshed tears.

"But you didn't." Nate said looking her in the eye. "I had to do what I did Sophie, you know that right? I mean…"

"I know." Sophie said leaning over him and kissing him gently.

"You know I would do it again, given the same set of circumstances."

"I know."

"They are family…they…"

"Stop Nate...I am not angry with them, nor with you. I just…I just…" Sophie said trying to control her emotions. She took a deep breath and then continued. "I buried you Nate. I believed you were gone, and I…I have never felt so…" Sophie stopped and tried to find the right word for how she felt. Nothing came close to describing how she felt thought. "Lost is suppose is the word. My world was so empty."

"I know how you felt Sophie…" Nate said. If she had felt anything like he had when he had lost Sam, then he had put her through hell. "I am so very sorry…"

"No…no Nate don't be sorry. You did what you had to. You did what you needed to. Both you and I know that either one of us would do anything for those three. They are family, as much as David is."

"God you know how much I love you Sophie Ford…?" He said as he grabbed her hand and pulled her toward him. She went willingly and climbed on the bed to lay beside him wrapping her arm around him and resting her head on his chest.

"I know." She said softly.

"Tomorrow we go home…" He whispered. "We get to take our son home and put this all behind us."

"Yes we do." She smiled looking up into his blue eyes that held such love for her. "But now you need to rest. If you are going to be fit to travel tomorrow you need to sleep and get a little stronger."

"Yes mommy…" he said cheekily dropping his head and kissing the top of hers. "Stay with me." He whispered.

"Forever my love…" She said snuggling closer to him. They lay like that until both of them drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

A few minutes later Eliot stuck his head in the room to see if Nate had finished eating, he also wanted to take the Mastermind's vital signs to make sure he was doing ok. But looking in at the two of them sleeping peacefully on the bed he decided it could wait. They both needed this. They both needed to rest and to just be with each other. Quietly he removed the dishes and then left the room, closing the door behind him.

**So this was a bit of a less hectic chapter. But is it the calm before the storm, or is the Leverage family going to make it home safe and sound without any further problems? I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review and let me know what you thought.**


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

It was five in the morning and Eliot was busy making sure everything was ready for their departure. He knew Nate was not ready to travel but he was about as ready as he was going to be.

"Hey, the plane will be ready to go as soon as we get there."

"Good."

"Shouldn't we get him to the clinic first, I mean have him checked out properly before we fly."

"Yeah we should, but we can't. We have to get out of this damn country as soon as possible."

"You think there might be fallout.

"I don't know Hardison. Markison is dead, so is Romanov. Their guys are going to be looking for their version of justice, now they are probably wiping each other out but I don't want to take any chances that they have any knowledge of Nate or us. Then Dr. Hunt is going to want to know where that damn Natalie Brent is, the police are still looking for David…yeah Hardison I think there is going to be fallout.

"Ok…" Hardison said holding his hands up. "I just…I just want this over man."

Eliot looked up at the Hacker and smiled. This had been hard on all of them starting with the three of them thinking that Nate had sacrificed himself for them to escape to finding Nate dead in this farmhouse, not to mention everything in between.

"Yeah we all do." Eliot sighed. "Cars are ready. You, Parker and Maggie are riding together in Natalie's car, Sophie, David and me are going to ride with Nate."

"Ok…well I'm going to go check on Parker…she's setting up the thing in the basement."

"Ok…I'm going to get Nate into the car. Tell Parker we go in thirty minutes."

Sophie was sitting next to Nate with David in her arms. He was sleeping again.

"Sophie…"

"We ready to go?" She asked looking up as Eliot spoke her name.

"Yeah…" Eliot said moving to her side.

"Ok, I'll get David ready."

"I'll get him in the car." Eliot said as Sophie turned to pack up a bag for David.

"Nate…Nate…you need to wake up." Eliot said shaking the sleeping man.

"Huh….Eliot…?" Nate said coming awake at Eliot's urging.

"Yeah, we are going to leave now. I need to get you into the car." Eliot said helping Nate sit up in the bed.

"Ok…" Nate said swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

"Here…" Eliot said tucking his shoulder under Nate's arm and lifting the Mastermind to his feet.

Nate pulled himself into a standing position with Eliot's help and although he bit back on it he could not help the grunt of pain that escaped him. He closed his eyes as the room swam around him.

"You ok Nate…" Eliot asked anxiously looking at the Mastermind as he fought for control.

"Yeah…" Nate whispered. "Just get me to the car ok…"

"Nate…I can carry you."

"No…no they don't need more stress right now…" Nate gritted out and Eliot understood what he was saying.

"Nate..."

"Eliot just move will you." Nate said.

The Hitter nodded and almost carrying Nate's whole weight anyway half dragged him out to the car. Then he put him in the backseat which he had made into a quasi-bed for the Mastermind. Nate lay down gratefully.

"You need a hospital." Eliot said climbing into the front of the seat so that he could adjust Nate's blankets. "Nate talk to me…what's going on?" Eliot asked anxiously.

"Just get us home Eliot…get my wife and son home." Nate replied closing his eyes against the sudden wave of nausea and dizziness that attacked him. "You know as well as I do the longer we stay in this country the more chance there is of something else happening. Sophie can't take any more, neither can Maggie." He said opening his eyes and looking at his Hitter.

"Fine…" Eliot said looking into Nate's blue eyes that were dulled by pain and fatigue. Something was wrong with Nate, Eliot could sense it, he needed urgent medical attention, something was very wrong Eliot thought as he looked at Nate. "Nate…"

"There is nothing you can do here and now Eliot except to make sure we get to that plane and out of this country." Nate said seeing the concern on his Hitter's face. "Just make sure that happens. We can deal with anything else afterwards." Nate said then smiled at the man. "Don't worry, I'll be fine…"

"Ok…" Eliot said resignedly. Nate was right of course and although something in Eliot's gut told him that damn the consequences they had to get Nate to a hospital, Nate was not going to go along with that anyway. All he could hope was that the Mastermind would be alright until they got back home and got him into a hospital.

"Nate…" Sophie said opening the front passenger door. "You alright back there?" She asked as she climbed into the car holding their sleeping son in her arms.

"Fine…" Nate said and Eliot marveled at the way he lightened his voice concealing the pain and the obvious discomfort he was in.

"Good. Just a little while longer and we will be home." Sophie said softly turning to smile at him.

"Yeah…" Nate said closing his eyes again. It was not long before he had drifted back into sleep.

Eliot climbed in the car and started the engine. Hardison started up Natalie's car and the convoy set out towards the town of Rockstock and the chartered plane that Hardison had ready for them. Eliot drove slowly and carefully, trying not to jolt the car too much on the long dirt road they had to traverse before coming to the main road. Once on the main road he set a blistering pace, the sooner they were on that plane and in the air the happier he would be. The sooner he could get Nate to a hospital in the US the happier he would be.

"You're worried aren't you?" Sophie said softly looking over at Eliot.

"Yeah I'm worried."

"He's going to be fine Eliot, I know that."

"I'm not worried about Nate…" Eliot started to say then stopped. This was Sophie he was talking to; he wasn't going to get away with lying. "Well I am. I think there may be something wrong, something I can't do anything about, something he needs medical help for…"

"Something life threatening…" Sophie said quietly.

"Maybe…" Eliot said and heard Maggie's sharp intake of breath at that.

"But that's not what you are worried about." Sophie stated.

"No. I'm worried about getting us on that plane without us getting arrested, or getting intercepted by Markison or Romanov's men who are busy killing each other off, but I am sure that one of them at least knew about Nate and what really happened on that ship." Eliot rambled off. "Sophie I just want us all on that plane safely…" Eliot said.

"So you think one of Markison's men may come after us?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah…"

"Well if anybody can get us out Eliot Spenser you can. You and Parker and Hardison…" Sophie said and the confidence in her voice made him smile.

They drove on towards their destination without stopping. Hardison was keeping track of the news and of the ongoing search for Baby Ford that was still in full swing. He had mapped out a route to the airport that did not take them down any of the main roads and he had confirmed with the pilot that the plane was ready to take off as soon as they had arrived.

When they arrived at the airport they found the plane waiting as they were promised. Maggie and Parker got their limited amount of luggage on board while Sophie took care of David. Hardison and Eliot carried Nate on board. He was no longer just sleeping…somewhere along the line he had fallen into unconsciousness. When they were all safely on board and Nate laid out on the stretcher that Hardison had arranged to have there the plane immediately started to taxi. They were in the air within minutes and then Eliot was at Nate's side checking him out.

That was when the door to the pilot's cabin opened and a man stepped out.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen." The man said as two other men took their place at his side. Each of them held a semi-automatic weapon. "I suggest you just keep as still as possible and I will have no reason to tell these two to open fire on you." The man continued. He had a heavy Russian accent although he spoke very good English.

"If you do that the plane will decompress and go down." Eliot said weighing up the possibility of getting to the group before they could take him out.

"True Mr. Spenser, but then we will all die yes…?" He said smiling at them. "Now I believe that I have you to thank for the death of my brother and the disappearance of my niece."

"I don't know what you are talking about." Eliot replied.

"Oh I am sure you don't…" Petrov Romanov said. "I would like you all to move to the back of the plane right now and take a seat." He said looking over the group. "Now…"

"Guys…" Eliot said after a second. There was no way he was disarming them, not right now anyway, and there was no way he was going to chance random gunfire either. They moved slowly to the back and each took a seat, Sophie holding David.

Romanov motioned one of his men forward. He knelt by Nate's side and felt for a pulse on the unconscious man. Finding one he nodded to his boss letting him know Nate was still alive.

"We shall all now just sit quietly. The journey will take only a few hours." Romanov said sitting down in one of the front chairs.

"Please, please let me make sure he is alright." Maggie asked looking at Nate.

"Do not concern yourself with your friend." He said his tone implying nothing but ill for Nate.

"Where are you taking us?" Sophie asked coldly.

"Shut up." Romanov said loudly. "We will have plenty of time to talk when we reach our destination. Until then, I would ask you to remain silent." He said.

All of them looked to Eliot who shook his head. They could do nothing right now. He did not know where Romanov was taking them to but when they were on the ground would be their only hope of ending this. He looked over to Nate and closed his eyes as he fought back the urge to just storm the bastards and take them out. Then he looked over at Sophie and David. They had to be his main priority now he told himself. No matter what happened, he had to make sure that the two of them got out of this alive and unharmed. He had no idea how he was going to do that, but he did know that if it was the last thing he and Parker and Hardison ever did, it would be that.

**Thanks for the reviews. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter. It seems that the Leverage gang and Maggie are not free and clear just yet.**


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"Let me introduce myself…" Petrov Romanov said as he stood before the group who had been transferred from the plane, to the house and the little room they now occupied. "I am Petrov Romanov, brother of Karl Romanov…" He smiled at them, looking directly at Maggie as he spoke. "Perhaps you remember him?"

Maggie's blood ran cold as she heard the name. Karl Romanov that was the man she had lured to the warehouse when they took down Markison.

"Now my brother was not a particularly nice man and I cannot say that I am overly saddened by his death. In fact you may have done me a favour by causing his downfall. However you know how these things work…I cannot allow you to go unpunished."

"We did not kill your brother." Eliot stated. It was true they had not, Markison and his men had.

"True you did not pull the trigger. However you orchestrated his death at the hands of Markison." He said. "In fact I believe it was you my dear…" He looked at Maggie and smiled. "Who was instrumental in luring him to his death. Then of course, there is the small matter of the twenty million dollars that you cost him and therefore me, with the destruction of the ship. Although I believe I can lay that at the feet of one Nathan Ford…AKA David Jenkins, not to mention the disappearance of my brothers beloved daughter. These are not things I can easily forgive." He said looking for one to the other as he spoke.

"What do you want?" Eliot asked the question but knew the answer. This was going to end only one way, with their deaths.

"What do I want…?" Romanov said thoughtfully. Then his next words surprised even Eliot. "I want my niece back. I cannot forgive the incident with the ship, money is after all, money. However I believe the man responsible for that has already settled that debt." He paused to let them realise what he had said. Then when he could see on their faces that they knew what he was implying he continued. "Although you were responsible for taking my brother to the warehouse, you were not the ones that pulled the trigger. Therefore, I will forgive that, besides there has been enough blood spilled for him. This is my only other stipulation in order to secure your release. Return my niece and you will all go free. Do not return her and I will kill all of you starting with that baby in your arms." He said looking at Sophie and smiling at her sweetly.

None of them answered him. They were still trying to process the fact that he had just told them that Nate was dead. Eliot had already suspected as much when Nate had not accompanied them from the plane. He knew that the others also suspected as much but to have it confirmed still shocked them. Besides the man was lying about letting them go and they all knew it. He looked over at Sophie who sat stoically rocking David gently refusing to cry.

"What if we don't know where she is?" Hardison asked.

"I do not believe that is the case. I will give you an hour to discuss it. When I return you will tell me where I can find my niece."

Romanov then left the room and the door was locked leaving the five of them silent and pensive.

"Do we know where she went?" Hardison asked looking at Parker and Eliot. They were the ones that had got to the girl and they were the ones that had got her to cooperate with them on the Markison thing.

"If we tell him we sign her death warrant." Eliot said softly.

"How do you know he wants to kill her?" Maggie asked. "I mean he…how do you know?"

"Maggie, if he doesn't want to kill her you can be sure he wants her for some other not to nice reason. That girl was abused by her dad, and who knows who else. Besides which he's going to kill us anyway." Parker said simply. "He's already killed Nate, he won't let us go. I am not giving her up." Parker continued. She was no fool and she had been around men like this before. They enjoyed inflicting mental and physical pain. She had no doubt that this Romanov was as guilty as his brother of abusing the kid; she could hear it in his voice see it in his eyes when he spoke of her.

"So what…we just let him kill us?" Maggie asked incredulously anger building in her. They were honestly just going to let that man kill them.

"Parker…" Eliot said looking at the Thief.

"The door is no problem. There are two guards outside. As we came in I counted six on the roof, and a couple in the gardens roaming." She reported.

"Yeah, that's what I got too." Hardison confirmed.

"OK…This is going to be fast, loud and messy." Eliot said looking at all of them. He did not bother to say that it would be almost suicidal as well. "Sophie…"

"I'm ready…" She said without hesitation. If she and her son were going to die it would be trying to escape and not by execution.

"Maggie…"

Maggie stared at the Hitter then nodded her consent to the plan such as it was. Before they could set their plan in motion, they heard a commotion outside of the door and then the key turning in the lock. Eliot moved in front of Maggie and Hardison with Parker standing in front of Sophie. Both were ready for whatever came through the door. The door swung open to reveal a very pale looking Nate who stood swaying slightly.

"I don't like the hospitality here, I don't know about you lot." He said. His voice was weak and Eliot could see he was about to collapse.

"Nate…" Sophie cried out as she pushed passed Parker to get to the Mastermind.

"I'm alright Sophie but we have to go now." Nate said urgently as he kissed her and put his hand on his son's head. Then he ushered them out the door, Parker in the lead followed by Sophie and Maggie then Hardison.

"Go Nate…" Eliot said as the Mastermind indicated that Eliot should follow Hardison.

"Eliot…I…I'll be right behind you." He said. He knew he was not going to be fast enough and if they all waited for him, they were going to get caught.

"I ain't leaving you Nate…you can't ask that, not again dammit." Eliot said and then without warning to Nate he swept the man up and flung him over his shoulder.

"Eliot…"

"Shut up Nate…we are all getting out of here." He said as he ran after the group.

Getting to the front of the house they stopped and surveyed the lay of the land. The van they had been brought there in was standing a few meters away. Parker disappeared pulling Hardison with her. They returned a few minutes later with the van. Parker jumped out and helped Eliot get everybody in and then Hardison flawed the accelerator and they were flying out of the compound with bullets following them. Eliot looked out the back window expecting pursuit. None came. He looked over at Parker who smiled at him and held up a spark plug. Then Eliot turned his attention back to Nate, whom he had unceremoniously flung into the back of the van. The Mastermind was still conscious though barely. Eliot could see the thin sheen of sweat coating him, he felt for his pulse, which was weak, very weak. He could hear a slight wheezing gurgle every time he took a breath and his breathing was very shallow and very laboured. He moved to Nate's head and lifted it to place it gently on his leg.

"Where we going…?" Hardison shouted from the front.

"Airport…" Nate whispered.

"Airport Hardison." Eliot relayed to the Hacker.

Nate pulled on Eliot and the Hitter leaned in, his ear close to Nate's mouth.

"They left the plane…you can fly right?" He asked. Eliot looked back down at the Mastermind and smiled.

"Yeah I can fly…" He said. How Nate knew that he had no idea.

"Good…just get us out of Russia…Germany probably best…" Nate said fighting the darkness that was closing again. "Keep….safe..." He whispered and then was out.

Eliot saw his head loll to one side and sighed, he kept his eye on the Mastermind, watching the rise and fall of his chest for a few minutes contemplating the man lying unconscious before him. How he had managed to get up and get to their prison, let alone take out the two guards was unknown to him. Nate had reserves that remained a mystery. He had them though, and thanks to him, they were well on their way to safety. He looked up and into Sophie's eyes. Then nodded to her to indicate that she should come and sit with Nate, she smiled and handed David to Maggie, kissing him gently as she placed him in the woman's arms. Then she scooted over to take Eliot's place. She sat like that for the full two-hour drive, with Nate's head resting on her lap and her hand running through his sweat-drenched hair.

**So this is really a rollercoaster ride. They have escaped again thanks to Nate, but how much more can Nate take. Will they make it to Germany? Will Romanov pursue them? Thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming, they are all greatly appreciated. **


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

Romanov watched the van drive off then turned back to the plane. He re-boarded the plane and walked up to the cot holding the Nate.

"This is the one that caused the explosion on the boat?" He asked looking at his deputy.

"According to our information yes."

"Is he dying?"

"I can't say. It seems like he is in some difficulty and he is unconscious."

"Take him to the house."

"Do I get him a doctor?"

"No…if he survives good, then I can make him understand that costing me money does not go unpunished. If he dies…well then so be it."

"Do I put him with the others?"

Romanov looked at his man and then back down to Nate. Then he laughed as he turned to leave the plane. "No, put him in another room, he's not going to be a problem and I can tell them he's dead, I shall be interested to see their reaction."

A few hours later Nate came back to consciousness slowly. He opened his eyes to find himself on the floor of a small room. He was alone, that scared him. Where was Sophie, David, the others? He tried to sit up but moving was difficult. His heart felt like it was bursting out of his chest, his breath was wheezy and he could feel sweat starting to form on his forehead. He knew something was wrong, but he was not quite sure what. He had taken so much punishment it could be anything. He heard voices and lay back down closing his eyes. The footsteps entered the room and stopped next to him.

"He's still unconscious?"

"Yeah and I'm stuck here watching him…You know George has organized a game and I'm stuck here watching him."

"Well you could be watching those others then you wouldn't be able to get away."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well you could go to the game…I mean he isn't going anywhere and nobody will know."

Greg looked at his friend and smiled at the thought. But then shook his head ruefully, Romanov was not a forgiving man and if something happened and he was not at his post then there would be hell to pay.

"He isn't going to wake up and even if he did I don't think he is going to run away do you?" His friend said. "Come on man, it's going to be a good game."

Greg sighed and looked back down at Nate. "What the hell…it's only a few hours anyway." Greg said smiling and walking out with his friend.

Nate heard them walk away from him. He heard the door close but did not hear a key turn in the lock. Once he was sure they were gone he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Immediately the room started spinning and he leaned back against the wall for support. 'The others' he thought to himself. He said 'the others', he must be talking about Sophie and the rest. He had to get to them. Slowly he stood up leaning against the wall for support. His head was spinning, he felt as if he had run and marathon and he struggled to get his breathing under control. He inched his way around the room leaning on the wall the whole way to the door. Trying the handle he found the door unlocked. He opened it a crack and peered out. The corridor was empty so he moved slowly out the door staying against the wall and in the shadows. Hearing voices at the other end of the hall he inched his way in that direction. Peering around the corner he saw two armed guard sitting outside another room. They were playing cards and smoking, not paying any attention to what was happening around them. Well he thought, the direct approach had always worked for him so he pulled himself upright then walked out and straight towards the two guards.

"Hello…" He said taking them by surprise.

"Who are you…" The one said brining his gun to bear on Nate.

"Me…oh I'm a guest of…whatshisname…" Nate said nonchalantly not sure who it was that them exactly, he had missed that part. "He said I should come down here and try to talk some sense into the Americans…you know how they can be…" He said smiling disarmingly at them. He was gambling on the premise that these two knew nothing about him.

"Romanov sent you?" One of the guards asked unsure of what to make of this pale sick looking American whom he had never seen before.

"Yeah…" Nate looked down at the table and saw what he needed, a taser, just lying there on the table waiting to be grabbed up. "Hey what you game you two playing…?" He asked leaning over the table and palming the taser then turning back to the very confused guards.

"Well, I suppose I should do what I came here to do." He said moving towards the door. Guard number one moved to intercept him and Nate pulled the taser from behind his back jamming it into him. The other guard, taken by surprise took a second or so to react, then started to bring his gun around and Nate moved the taser sending a the voltage streaming through his body. "Yeah, I can really see how Parker likes these things." Nate said looking down at the two guards. Then he dropped the taser and took the keys from the table.

"Nate…" Sophie cried out pushing past Maggie to get to him. He kissed her lightly and placed his hand on his son's head before telling them they all had to go.

Nate was not sure how it happened exactly but he ended up being slung over Eliot's shoulder and carried out at speed. He felt himself being slung into the van and then he was aware of Eliot sitting with him. They had to get to the airport, he knew Eliot could fly and he was sure that Romanov had not moved the plane, or at least he hoped so. It was their way out. He said as much to Eliot and then the darkness claimed him again.

He came awake again in a hospital room with Sophie sitting beside his bed her hand wrapped around his. The others were scattered around the room with Eliot leaning against the doorpost watching him.

"Hey Nate…" Eliot said as he saw the Masterminds eyes open.

"Eliot…" He said hoarsely. "How long?"

"A week..."

"What?" Nate said in surprise. He had been out for a week?

"Yeah, you weren't in the best of shapes, apparently you got an infection which affected your heart and your lungs."

"How are they?" He asked casting his eyes over the others who were all asleep.

"Tired, worried…" Eliot said.

"Yeah...we weren't followed?"

"No. Nate I just wanted to say…"

"Don't Eliot, I would do it again. Let's just leave it at that." Nate said knowing that Eliot wanted to apologize for getting him into all of this.

"I won't…"

"Yes you will, 'cause if you don't you know I'm not going to be happy." Nate said again knowing exactly what Eliot was going to say. That next time he won't call Nate. "Look Eliot, I have a son, yes and a wife and a family. But I had that before, you, you, Parker, Hardison you are my family too and I will do whatever is necessary if the need arises, and she would agree with me, and you know it."

"Nate…Nate…" Sophie said coming awake to the sound of his voice. "Oh Nate you're awake." She said standing up and leaning over him to look him in the eye. Those perfect blue eyes that held so much love for her.

"Sophie…" He said but was cut off by her lips crashing into his. "I…I thought…I…Oh Nate…" She said throwing little kisses all over his face as she ran her hands down his cheeks.

"Hey…hey it's ok, I'm ok Sophie…" He said lifting his hand up to wipe away the tears that flowed down her face. "I'm ok." He said again just before she captured his lips again.

"Hey Nate…" Hardison said happily watching the scene between husband and wife. Parker grabbed his and smiling happily. They had both woken with the first 'Nate' that Sophie had got out.

"Hardison…Parker." He greeting them smiling.

"It's about time you woke up Mister." Maggie said taking his hand on the other side of the bed from Sophie.

"Maggie…I…"

"Don't say it." She said quickly. "I'm just glad it's over." She said leaning in and giving him a peck on the cheek.

"Where is my son?" Nate asked looking around the room.

"Right here…" Sophie said lifting the baby out of the cot that stood beside her chair.

"Hey there David…" Nate said taking him from Sophie and placing him on his chest. "Daddy is so happy to see you…" He said smiling from ear to ear. His family was here. All of them safe and well…

"So when do I go home?" He asked looking at Sophie.

"When the doctor says so and not a minute sooner." She smiled at him leaning in to kiss him again. "I am not taking any chances with you."

"I feel fine…"

"Nate, you have nearly died more times than I can count in the last few weeks and you're heart was down to working at less than fifty percent because of the infection and you have been unconscious for seven days and…

"Ok..ok…not until the doctor says so." He said holding up his one hand, the other still resting on his son. "Parker go get the doctor will you?" He said to the Thief mischievously.

"Nathan Ford…"

"Hey David, your mother is very bossy don't you think?" He said to the baby who gurgled happily lying on his fathers' chest.

"Well I'm going to get some food…you guys coming?" Eliot said knowing that Nate and Sophie needed some time alone now that he was awake and he was going to be fine and the danger was over.

"Yeah…" Hardison said pulling Parker along with him.

Maggie watched the three and smiled. Then looked back at Nate and Sophie who were both absorbed in each other and their son. "Wait up guys…" She said heading out the door and closing it behind her.

"I'm sorry Sophie…" Nate whispered as when they were alone.

"Nothing to be sorry for Nate…we went over that don't you remember." She said kissing him lightly.

"I love you Mrs. Ford." He said emotion welling up inside of him.

"I know Mr. Ford." She said smiling as he kissed her again.

David gurgled and kicked his feet, his little hands grabbing Nate's in the left and then Sophie's.

"He's strong isn't he…?" Nate said as David clasped his fingers.

"Just like his Dad." Sophie said. As she lay down beside Nate on the bed resting her head on his chest, her hand moving in unison with her child's. "You know Mr. Ford…except for the fact that we are in a hospital in Germany, I could stay like this forever." She said softly.

"So could I Sophie…so could I…" Nate said turning his head and kissing her on hers. "I love you both so very much…"

When the others returned an hour later they found them like that. David asleep on his father's stomach and Sophie asleep with her head resting on a sleeping Nate's chest.

"Never again Eliot…" Parker said looking at the three of them.

"Never again." Eliot agreed.

**Well that is the end. I hope you all enjoyed the story. I enjoyed writing it very much. Thank you to all of you who have followed the story and left your reviews for me. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate them. To Sphinx, Stella, Carebear818, KendraBC, huttonfan, JustBecause2012, Leveragus, farrago42, msj12991, Ludy and everybody else thank you thank you thank you.**


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